Laurel L. Bothwell
Laurel Lea Bothwell (Goodbou) age 61,of Unionville CT. Passed away December 30th 2021 unexpectedly at home. Laurel was born in Maine Lori enjoyed reading about gardening, birds and nature. She was a good cook and loved sharing it with others. Lori loved to listen to music and one of her favorites was Janis Joplin. The loves of her live were her three children and grandson. Her strong faith in God is what got her through life.. A private cemetery service will be held at a later date. Lori was survived by her son Travis Goodbou a daughter Taylor Knotowicz, a grandson Sebastian Goodbou, and sisters Amy Thibodeau, Shelley Kilian. Lori was predeceased by her parents Leonard and Arlene Goodbou,a son Christopher Goodbou, and brother Lenny Goodbou.
plans to send out about 85 crew members before the snow starts on Friday morning.
“They do an outstanding job in preparation and getting the roads ready and the equipment ready and the staff ready,” said Mayor Dean Esposito, who visited the public works complex on Thursday afternoon. “We’re ready for a big storm, a little storm and a medium.”
He expects to issue a parking ban on Thursday night so that plow trucks can better clear the road. The city has 42 full-sized plow trucks, plus smaller trucks, Nolan said.
Crews will pre-treat the roads just before the snow hits the ground, he said.
“(If ) you pre-treat in advance with salt, the traffic will just knock it to the side of the road, so it’ll be ineffective once the snow hits,” Nolan said.
First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker said Bethel’s public works crews had started preparations for the Friday storm Thursday morning.
“We have an extremely well-versed crew when it comes to storm preparation, and they are getting ready right now,” he said Thursday morning. “They will have the trucks loaded up before they go home today.”
Knickerbocker said he’s “probably one of the luckiest first selectmen in the area” because Robert Dibble is the town’s highway superintendent.
“He’s actually a very highly-qualified meteorologist,” Knickerbocker said. “He does his own forecast and downloads his own satellite data. He is extremely good.”
He said Dibble has been with the town for more than 25 years and keeps a record of the parameters of every storm the town has had.
“He will note the moisture content and ratio, expected air and surface temperatures — because all those different factors are measurable — and will adjust the mixture of salt
and sand for the conditions that he expects,” Knickerbocker said.
Danbury has a meteorologist as part of its emergency management team, which met Thursday to prepare, said Matthew Cassavechia, the city’s emergency management director.
New Milford roads were slick Thursday morning due to black ice, said Mayor Pete Bass. Crews treated the road in the morning and then prepped trucks and equipment for the impending storm.
Bass said predictions for New Milford include 3 to 5 inches of “fluffy” snow, which should be easy for teams to plow through.
“They’ll be out plowing the roads and doing what we do each and every time it snows,” he said.
There are no expected high winds, which means that power outages would be unlikely in the area.
“I’m knocking on wood here,” Bass added.
Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi cautioned residents to stay off the roads if they can. While it’s hard to predict how much snow will actually accumulate, he said the highway department is prepared, having dealt with worse storms in the past
One variable that is different this year is the impact COVID has had on town employees, as one snow plow driver is out sick, Marconi said.
“If you don't have a driver to put in a $200,000 vehicle, you can’t tell just anybody to go plow,” he added. “It’s an expensive and intricate piece of equipment.
“COVID is impacting all facets of life,” he continued, “and snow removal is not an exception.”
The National Weather Service said there is also potential for snow showers and a wintry mix Sunday, as well.