Crime & Safety

UPDATE: "Multi-Faceted Push" Helped Ridge Oak Get Power Back, Director Says

Facility for senior citizens finally back on Thursday afternoon, after concerted effort by many, executive director says.

A very tired Bonnie Kelly, director at , said she and her staff will sit down Friday morning and go over lessons learned from a handling a power outage of about five days that finally ended when electricity went back on in the middle of Thursday afternoon at the facility.

But first, Kelly ticked off the names of people and organizations she said cooperated in a "multi-faceted push" to have lights and other conveniences that she said are necessities for many of the frail and elderly residents living at Ridge Oak, in the center of Basking Ridge.

Kelly said she believed a phone call placed within the last day by U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysten to executives at FirstEnergy, parent company of Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) finally brought about the return of power.

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But, she said, that was after days of Bernards Township Mayor John Malay visiting the facility "twice a day, every day," calling every level of government and power company executives he could, cooperation by health department director Lucy Forgione and the township's Office of Emergency Management coordinators, and interest by other state agencies and organizations in the situation where people who are not technically in assisted living still need special care in an emergency situation.

Kelly also thanked others who had been "generous" and showed great concern —  in Basking Ridge and What's In the Icebox in Somerville, which she said provided deeply discounted catered meals to those residents whose families were unable to relocate them _ and to the Ridge Oak staff, board, and others as well.

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One of the lessons she learned, Kelly said, was, "When people want to do something for you, let them do it."

As of 2:50 p.m. on Thursday, power had been  and many others in northern Basking Ridge. 

An employee at Ridge Oak said at 3 p.m. on Thursday that the power had finally returned about 10 minutes earlier. She said that the individual units were still being checked but that several residents had provided notification that they were again with power at that time.

Kelly said families of the residents, whose response she credited, had taken some home of those whom Ridge Oak staff felt would have a difficult time coping in homes without power.

She said Felmouth Hall in the center of the complex was staffed from at least 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the facility closed after dark to discourage residents from venturing out. Flashlights and fresh batteries were handed out recently.

Even bingo was played on Wednesday in the generator-powered Felmouth Hall, she said. Other residents were at the center to cook up lasagna for a homeless facility in Morristown, she said.

A nice thing, she said, was that people who normally wouldn't see each other sat down and talked while eating "meals out" at Felmouth Hall.

Kelly said she also learned to stock up on power strips — for charging cell phones — and said she will encourage more residents to obtain cell phones.

Cell phones and traditional landlines were a lifeline in the storm and afterward, said both Kelly and Malay. But she said that phone service attached to Cablevision or Verizon FiOs were cut off along when the buildings lost power.

On Wednesday, township officials — including Malay — said that Ridge Oak was one of the major spots around the township still without power. Malay said then he had urged all levels of state government and power officials to give priority to the independent living units for older residents.

Malay said he was told that statewide, JCP&L was giving priority to hospitals, nursing homes and areas with the greatest numbers of customers without power.

He said that he had commented that the many elderly, and low-income, residents at Ridge Oak also could be considered at risk.

Malay said at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday that JCP&L had informed him power might be returned by Thursday afternoon to the residents at Ridge Oak without power. Some sections of housing at Ridge Oak apparently never lost power.

Malay said on Wednesday a police officer would be available at the complex from 7 p.m. to midnight for those without electricity who might encounter an emergency.

Kelly said Ridge Oak paid for the services of off-duty officers on two nights.

The township municipal building and police department were reported earlier Thursday to again have power at the municipal complex at 1 Collyer Lane.

Malay said he had seen crews all over the township working to fix lines apparently downed by fallen trees. He said he couldn't fault JCP&L for its response to such a major storm, even though he believed that the senior housing complex should have been given higher priority.


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