Hurricane Sandy devastated New Jersey, the shoreline, Pennsylvania and New York. Following the storm, Medford Township is ready to clean up and begin restoring the township back to normal.
Medford Township Government Offices will be closed on Tuesday, Oct. 30, due to Hurricane Sandy. All phone calls for essential township services should be directed to (609) 654–7511, according to Medford Township’s website.
Trash collection services will be suspended for both Monday and Tuesday. Monday and Tuesday routes should place their cans curbside by Wednesday morning for collection Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Please be patient as all cans will be collected by Friday afternoon. Additionally, the township is asking residents to check the township website and sign up for Nixle alerts for changes to this schedule in the coming days.
As a result of the storm, both the senior center will be closed from Monday until Thursday and the Medford Arts Center will be closed from Monday until Thursday.
“We had a number of fallen trees and downed power wires. As a result, there are some road closures and sporadic power outages throughout the township. Our public safety personnel, which did a tremendous job preparing for the storm, continue to assess conditions and respond where necessary,” said council member Jeff Beenstock.
Roadways continue to remain closed due to downed trees and power lines. Three roads specifically, Taunton Road, Dixiontown Road and Hartford Road are all closed due to downed trees and power lines.
“We expect lengthy closures for Hartford Rd. [due to the downed tree], and we’ll touch base with the superintendents of each of the schools to determine whether they will open,” said Lt. Jeff Wagner, the township’s emergency management coordinator.
“We only experienced minor stream roadway flooding. There was no flooding damage to any home, the only problem is downed trees and power. We’re waiting for PSE&G, they’re going to work on the downed trees and wire,” said Wagner. “We have sporadic power outages with about 1,500 people without power.”
Additionally, six traffic lights are not working around the township, a problem looking to be rectified as quickly as possible, according to Wagner.
“We fared very well, we got lucky,” said Wagner.
The Chairville School served as a shelter for Burlington County, however, there was no confirmation of the number of residents who utilized the services offered.
According to an official statement issued by Burlington County, there will be assistance given to the neighboring counties, specifically Atlantic and Ocean. Ocean County has numerous fires; five local fire companies have dispatched fire trucks to assist. Local units have also sent four marine rescue boats units to assist in rescuing individuals.
Additionally, the county is planning to take in 400 or more individuals from both Atlantic and Ocean counties. Of the people, 200 will be moved into an overflow shelter at the Pemberton Campus of Burlington County College. Most of the other residents will be moved to the shelter at Fountain of Life located in Florence.
“Today the recovery begins in Burlington County. But we are not out of the woods, thousands are still without power, and we need to work expeditiously to clear our roadways for safe passage. In the meantime, we will do everything we can to help our friends in neighboring Ocean and Atlantic Counties. I know we still have a long way to go, but our county and local emergency management personnel and volunteers have done a great job of keeping on top of this storm,” Freeholder Director Bruce Garganio said in an official statement.
The township council meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 7, will go on as scheduled at the Union Fire House located at 1 Fire House Lane.
For continued updates, visit MedfordTownship.com.
Update:
The following is the latest updates from Nixle.com in relation to changes and closures in the township.
There are still power outages in parts of the township. The power companies have been notified and are working to rectify the issues. If you have a power outage, please contact your service provider. Please do not go near any downed wires as they may still be live.
Additionally, the traffic lights at Hartford Rd and Church Rd; Church Rd and County Road 541; Stokes Rd. and Himmelein Rd; Stokes Rd. and Skeet Rd; and Taunton and Tuckerton Rd are all not functioning. Portable stop signs and other traffic control device have been put in place for your safety. Please use caution and adhere to the traffic control devices.
Additionally, Halloween will be postponed until Nov. 2 due to the storm. As a result of the widespread damage throughout Medford Township, a decision has been made to postpone Halloween trick-or-treating to Friday, Nov. 2. This is being done to ensure the safety of the children due to numerous branches and some wires down in the area.
While the Township Public Works and Public Safety Personnel remain in a response mode, plans are being made to address debris removal. Residents should move brush curbside, separating smaller branches less than four inches in diameter from larger ones. Leaves should also be moved to the curb for pickup. All attempts will be made to begin debris removal during the second or third week of November.
Watch the township website and Nixle messages for additional information.
