First Selectman's Corner - December 2, 2019 - Holidays and Winter Weather

December 2, 2019

With the passing of the Thanksgiving Holiday, I hope all of our New Hartford residents had a chance to spend some quality time with their family and friends.  Carlene and I had the opportunity to spend some time together with our children and extended family and now it’s time for me to work off some of the turkey and mashed potatoes.

As we turn the calendar over to December and look out our windows - we are reminded that winter is really upon us now.  It’s time for frequent winter storms, icy conditions and driving to work in bad weather.  Our snow plows and DPW team are all at the ready to do their best to keep our roads open under some trying conditions.  It’s not easy staying out all night – but our team is up to the challenge – to keep our town safe.

With the bad weather comes school delays and cancellations.  I always find that the first few storms are always the most difficult until we get into “winter driving mode”.  I write today to remind all our residents to take great care on the roads during inclement weather.  Please take your time while driving and keep extra distance behind cars on the roads.  Snowy weather and snow banks can obscure our youngest school students at the bus stop, so please use extra caution during your commute.  

Of course as we get closer to the New Year, we are also reminded that it’s not uncommon for some of these winter storms to cause power outages.  Before it gets too cold, now is the time to take inventory around the house.  For those that can heat with wood, make sure there is an arm load (or two) of firewood around, some canned goods in the pantry and some new batteries in the flash light just in case the power goes out!  It’s probably a good idea to check the smoke and CO detectors too…to make sure your family is safe at home.

We also ask that you take a moment to keep those with special needs in your neighborhood in mind during winter months.  Perhaps there’s an elderly couple that might need assistance.  If you believe that there are those in need of help in your area, please let us know at Town Hall so that we can reach out to them to see if we have access to a program that might work for their specific situation.  If you’re in the giving spirit and able to help those in need, a donation to our local “Neighbor to Neighbor” charitable fund is always greatly appreciated. Contact Town Hall to learn more about this emergency fund that helps out our New Hartford neighbors experiencing difficult times.

As always, if you have questions about town snow maintenance operations, town hall hours during storms, or the status of town events, keep an eye on our town website for updates or feel free to send me a note at Town Hall @ djerram@newhartfordct.gov.

Happy Holidays and maybe I’ll see you at “Breakfast with Santa” on Sunday, December 8, 2019 at Ann Antolini School between 8am and 11am!

Dan