Community Corner
A Summit Community Prepares For Hurricane Irene
Summit and area residents make runs for supplies. Meanwhile, with many shops and facilities closing early on Saturday or closing altogether on Sunday, residents are urged to call ahead.
Summit residents, along with residents of neighboring towns, have begun clearing out store shelves of water, milk, batteries and other staples, ahead of the anticipated onset of Hurricane Irene.
Down at Kryston’s Hardware along Springfield Avenue, a store manger who asked not to be identified, simply pointed to a virtually bare battery display when asked is his store had a run on any of its items.
Area food markets, in some cases, saw long lines for supplies.
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“Stopped by King's in Short Hills -- almost out of bottled water,” said Summit resident Kara Whitley. “Line wrapped halfway around inside the store.”
Gas stations have also seen a rush to fill up today. “I topped of the tank.” Whitley said.
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Residents are presumably in a rush for good reason. Many retailers have made preparations to close at some point on Saturday, most at around Noon, when forecasters say that the rain should be to fall and drive sideways.
“I just did some shopping in the A&P (In New Providence) and picked up some supplies,some paper goods and now I am going to see if I can find any bottled water,” said Joanne Tremanelo of Summit.
Even the big box retailers are seeing a run on “hurricane” items. The Home Depot in Garwood said that they are sold out of all “hurricane supplies,” i.e., batteries, flashlights, and home generators. They said they might have another shipment coming in tomorrow.
Marlin Mixon, spokesperson for Summit Downtown Inc. (SDI), the entity that assists downtown shopkeepers with operations and marketing management, said that shopkeepers may stay open as long as they would like tomorrow but with precautions.
“What the city and SDI is telling them that they can stay open for as long as they think it’s appropriate tomorrow but, we’ve asked everyone to take in their garbage cans and get everything out of the windows,” Mixon said. “We are also telling them that no one should be open on Sunday and for them to check the weather and take precautions with glass, garbage and awnings. We are telling them to treat this as a very serious affair.”
Other facilities in town are preparing for the storm as well.
The Summit Family Aquatic Center and the Summit Municipal Golf Course are preparing for Hurricane Irene. In order to minimize possible damage to both facilities, staff will be working on Saturday on each of the properties but are totally weather and preparation dependent. Residents are urged to call ahead before going to either of the facilities. Both facilities will be closed on Sunday, August 28, 2011 for the Hurricane.
Due to the pending Hurricane Watch, Summit's Farmers Market, Family Aquatic Center and Municipal Golf Course will be closed on Sunday.
The Summit Family Aquatic Center can be reached at 908-273-6777. The Summit Municipal Golf Course can be reached at 908-277-6828.
