FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018

Media contact: Jordan Mayblum
Email: jordan@jgpr.net
Phone: 617-993-0003

Andover Provides Update on Status of Town Services and Departments

ANDOVER — Town Manager Andrew P. Flanagan, Police Chief Patrick Keefe, Fire Chief Michael B. Mansfield, and Andover’s town government department heads seek to update residents on the status of town services for the upcoming week.

Gas Restoration

Eversource Energy and Columbia Gas are directing the gas service restoration process. For more information, visit Eversource’s website. The town is in regular communication with the utility and provide residents with updates as they become available.

Schools

Superintendent Sheldon Berman: All Andover Public Schools and after school activities will resume at normal times tomorrow, Monday, Sept. 17. Buses will operate on normal schedules and food services at all schools will be available.

Superintendent John Lavoie: Greater Lawrence Technical School will be closed on Monday.

Trash and Recycling Pickup

Director of Public Works Christopher Cronin: The Town of Andover, through its trash and recycling partner Republic Services, will be collecting Friday’s service area on Monday and then running a holiday week schedule for the remainder of the week.

Therefore if your regular collection day is Friday, you will receive collection service on Monday. Monday service will be collected on Tuesday, Tuesday service will be collected on Wednesday, and so forth.

Republic Services understands that there will likely be increased rubbish volume this week, and all of that increased volume will be collected. Residents should make every reasonable effort to place trash bags in covered containers as always, in order to avoid litter. The town is coordinating with Republic Services to bring in additional resources if needed.

Residents with any questions are asked to refer to the Town of Andover website or call the Department of Public Works on Monday at 978-623-8700 and press 0 for the operator.

Food Waste Due to Power Outages

Health Division Director Thomas Carbone: We practice basic safe food handling in our daily lives, but obtaining and storing food safely becomes more challenging during a power outage.

Steps to Follow During and After a Power Outage

• Never taste a food to determine its safety.
• Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature.
• A refrigerator will keep food at a safe temperature for about four hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold its temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) and the door remains closed.
• Food may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40°F or below.
• If a thermometer has not been kept in the freezer, then check each package of food to determine its safety. If the food still contains ice crystals, the food is safe
• Discard all refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, soft cheeses, milk, eggs, leftovers and deli items after 4 hours without power.
• Remember: When in Doubt, Throw it Out.

Click here for more information on food safety.

Health Division

Monday’s Board of Health Meeting is expected to go on as scheduled at 6 p.m.

Businesses looking to contact the Health Division should call 978-623-8640 and leave a message, or send an email to health@andoverma.gov. Both are being monitored and staff will respond in a timely manner.

The Health Division Office will be open on Monday at 7 a.m.

Library

Memorial Hall Library will return to normal operating hours on Monday, opening at 9 a.m.

Water and Sewer

Andover Water & Sewer reports normal water system operation. The water treatment plant continued to run through the duration of the gas emergency, and water remains completely safe for all uses.

Police Department

The Andover Police Department records office will open at 8 a.m. Monday.

Loss and Damage Claims

Residents who were displaced by this weekend’s incident should make every effort to track the expenses they incurred — including meals, hotel costs, property damage, spoiled food, lost wages or business income and other associated losses — in order to ease the process of seeking reimbursement from Columbia Gas.

To initiate the claims process through Columbia Gas, please call 1-800-590-5571.

Updates will continue to be posted on the town’s official website at www.andoverma.gov and on the town’s Facebook and Twitter feeds.

 

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