October snowstorm clean up

Worcester, Mass. residents continue cleaning up from the October snow storm. Worcester Telegram & Gazette - telegram.com - Trees down, power out It could be days before power is restored to all of the hundreds of thousands of people who lost it during an early season weekend storm that dumped wet, heavy snow across the state, particularly in Western and Central Massachusetts. Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency, allowing him to mobilize the National Guard to help hard-hit cities and towns. Soldiers were out this morning helping chain saw crews remove fallen trees so utility workers could get to downed wires. More than 800 members of the National Guard have been activated statewide to help cities and towns deal with the aftermath of the weekend snowstorm, Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray said at a press conference this afternoon at the Worcester Emergency Operations Center on Grove Street. As of early this afternoon, about 650,000 people were still without power statewide, including more than 26,000 in Worcester, according to Mr. Murray, who urged people without electricity to try to remain patient until service is restored. "It's going to take time given the magnitude of the damage, and it is labor-intensive," Mr. Murray said. "We're pushing the utility companies as hard as we can and we've got the public safety crews out," he said. Several school districts in the region, including Worcester, Shrewsbury, Northboro-Southboro, Auburn, Tantasqua Union 61, Dudley-Charlton, Athol-Royalston, Harvard and Oxford school districts have all canceled school for tomorrow, Monday, Oct. 31. Notre Dame Academy also canceled school. "It's not only a lot of snow, but a lot of the heaviest wettest snow that you ever want to see out there," said Peter Judge, spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. http://www.telegram.com/article/20111...