I had a personal appointment in Brookfield today and my GPS took me there the way of Route 58 through Redding and Bethel. Cleaning up the debris of fallen tree branches from the ice storm last month is still a reality for these towns. On November 2nd Bridgeport sent mutual aid support to Bethel providing one payloader, two dump trucks, a 40-yard dumpster and a two-person chainsaw crew, for a total of six crew members who spent the week clearing roads. “While the City of Bridgeport was spared the brunt of this weekend’s nor’easter, some of our neighboring towns, like Bethel, were not so fortunate. We’re happy to lend a hand and provide their town with resources to aid in their clean-up. In the days following the tornado last year, and more recently, after Hurricane Irene, our neighbors were kind enough to help us, so we’re happy to return the favor,” said Mayor Bill Finch.
What is a distant bad memory for many in our area is still very real for many in Bethel and Redding. The roads are lined with these reminders of branches at the side of the road waiting to be collected.
I encountered one minor delay as road crews worked a portion of the road. Although the power has been restored downed telephone lines were still seen, probably forgotten land lines no longer used.