3 Days Post Storm, Two River Area is Still Hard at Work

Three days after the great storm of 2010, Rumson and Fair Haven are still hard at work plowing, shoveling, clearing, and making way for people to get back to their regular routines.

Rumson Department of Public Works (DPW) Superintendent Mark Wellner and his team have been working around the clock to clear the heaps of snow around the borough.  "I have worked for the borough for 26 years and I have never seen a storm of this caliber," he said.  "We have never had so much snow in such a short amount of time."

All streets in Rumson were passable as of 2 am Tuesday morning.  DPW was able to get a leg up on the storm because their front loaders were out as soon as the snow started.  Wellner said that clean up will take at least another 3-4 days, and they are now working on opening up corners and dead end roads.  DPW will spend most of the weekend helping the Rumson school district clear out their lots so they can resume school without a problem on Monday.

"I want to praise my guys," said Wellner.  "They did a hell of a job.  They worked extraordinarily long hours away from their families to get Rumson up and running.  The team is unbelievable, and residents see that when they look out their windows."

It took a great team effort to clear the snow.  The Rumson DPW, police department, fire department, first aid, mayor, and council collaborated and assisted one another in the whole endeavor.  Wellner, happy and thankful be part of a great team, said "One department did not outshine another department.  We all worked together."

This collective effort also helps keep Rumson within their budget.  "We work together to have high and efficient productivity to keep overtime hours to a minimum.  We plan on snowstorms every year and work together to ensure there is some kind of surplus if something unexpected comes along."

Mayor of Rumson John Ekdahl applauded Mark Wellner and his team for their "tireless efforts" in fighting the storm.  "Crews were hampered by the volume of snow and eventually went to plowing in "gangs" to help move the drifts and be ready to pull each other out of snow banks. Crews were further slowed by the necessity to plow the main County roads like Rumson, Ridge and River since no County plows were in sight.  Overall, an excellent performance by all Borough employees and especially the DPW." 

Fair Haven Mayor Michael Halfacre commented on the unusual nature of this storm.  All things considered Mayor Halfacre thinks the "DPW did pretty well compared to others.  Our guys worked over 30 straight hours clearing roads, and will continue to work until it's done."

Mayor Halfacre and Mark Wellner know that despite their efforts, there are still residents of Rumson and Fair Haven who are still snowed in and not happy about it.  "The job isn't done yet and we know that it isn't up to our standards," Wellner said.  He asks the townspeople to "please bear with us as we do our best with the snow removal."

Kate Grossarth of Ward Ave in Rumson has been snowed in since the storm started.  She is one of two houses at the end of a long driveway, which has been impassable since the start of the storm.  A plow and a flat bed tow truck both got stuck trying to get down the driveway.

"I don't even think I have the words," said Kate.  "It is completely and utterly ridiculous to be snowed in for this long.  Thank God I bought a lot of food for Christmas!"

Tom Gehret, 19, lives on Navesink Ave in Rumson.  He was supposed to return from a family vacation in Florida on Sunday, but due to weather in New Jersey they were forced to spend another night in Florida.

When they finally returned home, the Gehret's driveway was still immersed in snow.  "We tried to shovel this morning but it was a little overwhelming," he said.  Getting hold of  a plow seemed to be impossible.  Tom said "The only way to get someone to clear our driveway was to flag down a plow driving by our house.  It was a little Christmas miracle.