Take our Poll: Does Vera Cruz Need an Emergency Shelter?
Two Vera Cruz residents asked the Upper Milford Township Board of Supervisors to consider establishing a permanent shelter in a neighborhood community center.
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In the wake of back-to-back extreme weather episodes that left Vera Cruz and much of Upper Milford Township without electricity for several days, two Vera Cruz residents asked the Upper Milford Township Board of Supervisors to establish a permanent emergency shelter in Vera Cruz at the board’s Dec. 1 meeting.
Andrew Young and David Lindstrom said they did what they could to help their neighbors during the extended power outage that followed the October snowstorm. Now they want to set something up in the community to make sure their neighbors have a place to go when the next disaster strikes.
Specifically, the men asked the supervisors if a shelter could be established in the community center across from the Citizen's Fire Company. To do so wouldn’t take much in their estimation – just some food, water and a portable generator.
They mentioned the fact that Zion’s Lutheran Church opened up as a shelter in the aftermath of the snowstorm, but most people had no way of knowing that at the time.
“We just need a place that whatever kind of catastrophe may happen should open automatically and people should know to come,” Lindstrom said. “(After the snowstorm) most people in Vera Cruz had no idea where to go.
“We are a little community and we should be proud of that. I don’t mind going out of the way for people. We just need some place where we could take our elders if they are cold to be warm,” Lindstrom said.
In This article
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Upper Milford Township
5671 Chestnut St, Emmaus, PA -
Citizen's Fire Company of Upper Milford Township
4093 Main Rd W, Emmaus, PA -
Zion's Evangelical Lutheran Church
5901 Kings Highway South, Old Zionsville, PA
slate
7:38 pm on Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Did anyone ask the Fire Company? "This is not a scientific poll" LOL!
Tina Schantz
10:17 pm on Wednesday, December 7, 2011
I would like to see a shelter set up. I would hope our residents would help donate a lot of the items needed to stock the shelves. We can't expect the township to foot the bill. And when the emergency strikes, we all put some cash in a tip jar to help pay the utilities to keep us warm and fed. I would donate my time and money to volunteer to cook and clean up, but I wouldn't want to be responsible for caring for everyone in the building. If my parents needed assistance I would be there to help take care of them.
Terry R. Schmeltzle
7:35 am on Thursday, December 8, 2011
Where is there a community center across from the Fire Company? There is the Fire Company's Social Hall, but it belongs to the Fire Company, not the township. It would seem the Fire Company should have been asked if it was okay to use their facility. It may be a good idea, but the wrong people were asked. I would support a shelter for the people during a catastrophic event, but the township has no authority over Fire Company property.
Ronald Weaver
6:25 pm on Thursday, December 8, 2011
What type of catastrophic event? Do we have an example from the past that such a facility is needed? Great idea if it is needed, too many social programs are set up that are either abused or not practical if research proves it may not happen in a life time. Maybe arrangements could be made with local churches.