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Log inShelters open, but most Mainers stay home
Shelters open, but most Mainers stay home
by Outspoken on Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:38 am
Shelters open, but most Mainers stay home
The facilities will be open through the weekend as temperatures are expected to drop into single digits.
By JUSTIN ELLIS
Staff Writer
For some Mainers, hope remained the last thing to succumb to darkness Friday night, as emergency shelters throughout the southern part of the state saw modest amounts of takers.
More than 200,000 homes and businesses were without power in the state at one point Friday, and emergency officials were bracing for a run on shelters. That immediate need didn't seem to develop, but some expect that will change as Mainers encounter prolonged power outages into next week.
Temperatures today are expected to be in the 20s and drop into the single digits tonight, and it won't warm appreciably until Monday. That could be too much to stand for those trying to stick it out at home.
Communities have opened 17 shelters in the southern and midcoast areas of the state, and they will remain open as long as needed, said Lynette Miller, spokeswoman for the Maine Emergency Management Agency.
"Sometimes the second day brings people who are more needing and willing to go to a shelter," Miller said. "Initially they want to tough it out, but after 24 hours or so, they're ready to go to a warm place and have a hot meal."
The shelter at Westbrook High School stayed busy through most of the evening Friday, as fire crews and volunteers evacuated residents from a number of facilities for seniors.
Under basketball hoops and championship banners, cots covered the floor of the school's gymnasium.
Around 5:30, about 30 people were at the shelter – and then the power went out there. A generator supplied power to the cafeteria and gym, though volunteers had to lead groups of seniors through the hallways by flashlight.
Susan Schwenk, a care provider from Dolley Farm, a facility for the elderly, said the residents adapted well to their loss of power and relocation to the shelter.
Avery Jenkins, a crisis team manager with the Trauma Intervention Program, said volunteers were on hand to help seniors cope.
"It can be very disorienting to be evacuated, particularly for the elderly," Jenkins said.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=227294&ac=PHnws
The facilities will be open through the weekend as temperatures are expected to drop into single digits.
By JUSTIN ELLIS
Staff Writer
For some Mainers, hope remained the last thing to succumb to darkness Friday night, as emergency shelters throughout the southern part of the state saw modest amounts of takers.
More than 200,000 homes and businesses were without power in the state at one point Friday, and emergency officials were bracing for a run on shelters. That immediate need didn't seem to develop, but some expect that will change as Mainers encounter prolonged power outages into next week.
Temperatures today are expected to be in the 20s and drop into the single digits tonight, and it won't warm appreciably until Monday. That could be too much to stand for those trying to stick it out at home.
Communities have opened 17 shelters in the southern and midcoast areas of the state, and they will remain open as long as needed, said Lynette Miller, spokeswoman for the Maine Emergency Management Agency.
"Sometimes the second day brings people who are more needing and willing to go to a shelter," Miller said. "Initially they want to tough it out, but after 24 hours or so, they're ready to go to a warm place and have a hot meal."
The shelter at Westbrook High School stayed busy through most of the evening Friday, as fire crews and volunteers evacuated residents from a number of facilities for seniors.
Under basketball hoops and championship banners, cots covered the floor of the school's gymnasium.
Around 5:30, about 30 people were at the shelter – and then the power went out there. A generator supplied power to the cafeteria and gym, though volunteers had to lead groups of seniors through the hallways by flashlight.
Susan Schwenk, a care provider from Dolley Farm, a facility for the elderly, said the residents adapted well to their loss of power and relocation to the shelter.
Avery Jenkins, a crisis team manager with the Trauma Intervention Program, said volunteers were on hand to help seniors cope.
"It can be very disorienting to be evacuated, particularly for the elderly," Jenkins said.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=227294&ac=PHnws
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
