sullivan county recovering from superstorm sandy

a sidewalk lifted up

people in line for gas

electric workers working on powerlines

A uprooted tree fell on a house

Hurricane Sandy

Restoring power continued to be the number one concern in Sullivan County yesterday as the region slowly recovered from Hurricane Sandys passing.As of the middle of Monday around 6000 people in Sullivan County continued to be without electricity.That didnt lead so much to full shelters the official Red Cross one at SUNY Sullivan now at the Woodbourne Firehouse had only a few people in it yesterday down from more than 100 said Public Safety Commissioner Dick Martinkovic.
But it did lead to angry nerves and plenty of frustration across the county to the point that officials are calling for a roundtable meeting with NYSEG Central Hudson and Orange & Rockland.
The utilities had time to prepare for this storm but their response indicates that they did not said Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther. Theres a responsibility to the public that needs to be met and this round table discussion is about making sure that it is.
In the meantime local officials emergency responders and ordinary citizens helped the county survive a storm that at its height had knocked out electricity and  roads in every single spot.We have no roads closed in the county whatsoever Martinkovic relievedly related yesterday morning.
He agreed We do a great job as a community looking after each other.The volunteer and paid emergency responders merited his highest praises thanking them for an outstanding job in taking care of the public.Thousands of trees were cut up several fires put out and at least seven carbon monoxide poisonings successfully treated during the past week.Those responders were coordinated from an emergency operations center the county set up near White Lake.Our team worked very professionally said Martinkovic. We had the doers here he saidSolid waste fees for storm debris only have been waived by the County Legislature through Sunday Nov 11.  ASB Greenworld the brand new mulch plant in the Town of Bethel is accepting clean storm debris of trees and brush to convert into mulch instead of landfilling it. They are located at 848 Lt JG Brender Highway north of Mongaup Valley. To keep people from hoarding gas which briefly became a problem last week the county banned purchasing more gas and diesel than was necessary to fill a vehicle with an allowance for small containers used to get fuel for generators. Ag businesses were exempt from this prohibition. That ban has now been lifted.