Somers: Shelter Residents Grateful to Town Employees

For Eleanor Walker, nearly 92, there's no place like home.

However, with no heat or electricity at her Somers home, she's been sleeping on a cot at Somers High School, taking advantage of its showers, hot meals, and comfortable temperatures.

"I really want to go home. I'm worried about my cat, Perc," said Walker as she sat in the school cafeteria enjoying her lunch. She said a neighbor was looking after her pet, but she still misses him.

Norma, a home health aid from Ashford, said she has been splitting time with another aid worker caring for Walker at the school.

"We've been here since Monday, and I have to say the volunteers here have been really nice, friendly, and helpful. After all this time, it's even hard for me to understand how they can continue to be so pleasant," she said.

While Norma had word that Walker's street was being worked on Sunday and expected they could return home later hat night, she wasn't so sure what will happen to those who might not yet have power restored, especially because school is scheduled to reopen on Monday.

"I asked that question at a town meeting they held here, but it didn't get answered," Norma said.  "If power is still out on Monday, what happens? Can people still sleep in the gym?"

Still, Norma was hopeful that it wouldn’t be an issue come Monday.

"Each day I've seen the numbers of people dwindle a little bit as people are slowly getting their power back. I also see more lights on in different areas as I drive over here, so you can see things are getting done," said Norma.

At another table in the cafeteria, Fred Fisher spent time with his 92-year-old father, Bob.

"We've been here eight days now," Fisher said. "After the storm I picked up my father and my mentally disabled son and we drove around for two hours looking for a hotel. We went as far as Springfield, but there was nothing available," he said. "There was no room at the inn."

Fisher said it was a nerve-wracking experience trying to figure out what to do with two vulnerable family members.

He said he figured at first his son might be safe at home, but when he started hearing what he thought was rifle shots in the woods--what he soon deduced were cracking and snapping tree limbs--he knew he couldn't leave his son at his home. After a few frustrating and fruitless hours trying to find alternative lodging, it was a snowplow driver that suggested he call Town Hall for assistance.

"I talked to [First Selectman] Lisa Pellegrini. She had made arrangements to open a shelter on Sunday, but after talking to her she made the proper calls and within the hour she had arranged for cots here," Fisher said

Fisher expressed his gratefulness for the town providing family members with a safe, warm place to stay.

"This has been a lifesaver for my Dad. The people here have been really super," he said.