A Message from First Selectman Bindelglass

holiday snowman

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Good afternoon, 

I am happy to report that Bridgeport Hospital began vaccinating people for COVID-19 this week. Deliveries are being made and the process will accelerate from here. On the state website, www.ct.gov/coronavirus, you can read about Connecticut’s plans for vaccine distribution. Hospitalization numbers have been fairly steady for the last week.  

There are two main differences from the surge in hospitalizations in the spring. First, there are many more people in the hospital this time of year with problems other than COVID-19, and second, there is no medical staff coming from other parts of the country to help because staff is needed in their local areas.  All the hospitals in the state are challenged to take care of every patient they see. Another significant increase in COVID-19 positive patients would be very difficult for our hospitals to handle. Until enough people are vaccinated, hopefully this summer,  it is up to us to control the spread. While there are new cases in Easton everyday, the per 100,000 per 2 week rate fell for the 2 weeks ending December 12th to 28.5  with 30 new cases in the prior 2 weeks. We need to continue to do all of those things that we talk about every week that  help reduce the spread. As much as we all yearn for being with our friends and families over the holidays, please be mindful of the consequences, limit gatherings, wear masks and social distance.

We also had our first major snowfall of the season and despite a hefty amount of snow, we faired well; ninety customers lost power and there was only one major road blockage. Hopefully, these relatively low numbers reflect the work done on tree trimming and removal that I have been talking about the last few weeks. Our Department of Public Works, as always, did a wonderful job of getting the roads cleared, aided by the fact that people stayed home and few cars were on the roadways. During the next few days, the temperatures will be significantly below freezing, so if you have elderly neighbors, please check on them.

Concerning the tree work, I testified this week in front of the Public Utilities Regulatory Agency regarding the UI preparation and response to our last storm. I think the Agency heard those of us who testified and we will await the findings. Again, even before the hearing, we have already succeeded in getting the tree work done.  If we can prevent outages, that is the best of all results.

Congratulations to Wendy Bowditch who was recently appointed to the Board of Finance. Wendy has served Easton in multiple capacities over the years and we welcome her further service.

I think the snow makes Easton even more beautiful than normal. For many, this is their first holiday time and snowfall in town. Welcome!  From all of us in Town Hall, I want to wish you a joyous and peaceful Holiday Season.

Dave Bindelglass