Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Experts say many perishables should be tossed if electricity is off for more than four hours.
The United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service offers the following advice for people after a severe storm or hurricane that has caused a power outage: “When in doubt, throw it out.” In fact, the USDA Safe Food Handling Fact Sheet titled “A Consumer's Guide to Food Safety: Severe Storms and Hurricanes,” says that homeowners should get rid of perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, soft cheeses, milk, eggs, leftovers and deli items after four hours without power. A full freezer, the fact sheet says, will maintain its temperature for about 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full and the door stays closed). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration offers the follow food safety tips:
Monday, November 7, 2011
If anything could have gone wrong, it did.
It was Monday, Oct. 31. We should have been crawling out of bed into a nice, warm suite about 50 miles away. But, we awoke to a cold house in Upper Milford Township and the third day without power. The Oct. 29 snowstorm altered our vacation plans. Instead of packing and loading up the car on Sunday, we surveyed the damage to our trees and shoveled over 15 inches of the white stuff. There was no word when power would return—PPL was overwhelmed with calls. So we stayed home hoping for information (or to have the power on) by the next day. Monday morning my husband and I began our vacation by going to Zion’s Lutheran Church to wash our hair and brew some coffee—they regained electric sometime Sunday night. We then proceeded to visit a friend…
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Here's the story of what our family went through during the recent historic snow storm that rocked the Emmaus Patch.
I can still remember the day I drove by the two-story white farmhouse in Vera Cruz with the for sale sign in front. It was late spring and there were flowers in bloom everywhere. “Wow,” I thought, “That place looks like paradise.” I was on my way to work, and running late as usual, so I kept driving. One the way home, I looked a bit more. Oh my! There’s a creek next to the house. And a barn…and that cute little building must have been an outhouse. And, the trees…look at those BIG beautiful maple trees. Fast-forward about three years. Past summers of muddy children frolicking in that creek. Past the installation of the tree swing in that giant silver maple. Past the addition of the Belgian sheep dog to our clan. Past the power outage and …
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it’s time to pitch everything.
Once power is restored, Emmaus Patch residents will need to throw away everything in their refrigerators and freezers according to guidelines published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The refrigerator will keep food cool for four hours during a power outage if the door isn’t opened. A full freezer will last about 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door stays closed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration offers the follow food safety tips:
Independent contractors from West Virginia took a short break in parking lot at Zion’s Lutheran Church to talk to Emmaus Patch Monday night.
Two linemen who drove 11 hours to the Lehigh Valley to assist PPL Electric with its efforts to restore power to the region following Saturday’s unusual October snowstorm took a moment to speak to Emmaus Patch in the parking lot of Zion's Lutheran Church about what the past few days have been like for them. Both men, independent contractors from Western Virginia, near the Tennessee border, drove about 11 hours to get to Upper Milford Township. They didn’t know each other prior to their trip to Pennsylvania, although they actually live about 30 minutes apart. Both men said that they have been working around-the-clock since arriving in the Lehigh Valley, a number that they put at 15 hours and counting when they spoke to Emmaus Patch at about …
Monday, October 31, 2011
About a dozen or so residents from Upper Milford Township take advantage of the hospitality of Zion’s Lutheran Evangelical Church Monday. Residents who need to spend the night are encouraged to bring pillows and blankets.
About a dozen or so Upper Milford Township residents are getting a reprieve from the dark and cold today, thanks to the hospitality of Zion's Lutheran Church, 5901 Kings Highway South. And, that hospitality will continue for the duration, according to Rev. Martin Milne, Zion's Lutheran pastor, who says that those in need of a warm place to sleep should bring pillows and blankets with them since the church has no cots. The families seeking shelter in the church today are enjoying a lunch of hot French onion soup made by Milne, and taking advantage of the the church's Wi-Fi to access the Internet and order things like propane heaters and generators. Since power returned to Zionsville and Old Zionsville Monday morning, Milne decided to open …
Thursday, September 1, 2011
An Upper Milford man was ready to fix the problem himself.
For three and a half days Terry and Betsey Schmeltzle were “inconvenienced” by Hurricane Irene. They and the other five homes on Fox Lane in Upper Milford Township survived without power for 86 hours. It began Saturday at midnight—when the power went out. Schmeltzle was prepared with a generator. He had seven extension cords strewn throughout the house to keep their refrigerator, freezer and other items working. Sometime Sunday evening, said Schmeltzle, the power came back on for five to ten minutes and went out again—this time until 1 p.m. Wednesday. “It was not only an inconvenience, but it was very stressful,” he said. Monday morning Schmeltzle said he checked the area, looking for a downed tree or something to indicate the problem, …
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Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Systems keep stores open and food safe during storms, power outages.
It’s not just the postman who isn’t thwarted by rain, sleet, snow or dark of night. Fortunately for Emmaus residents, Weis Supermarkets is also similarly equipped to handle bad weather. The Sunbury, Pa.-based chain, which has 163 stores in five states, has an inclement weather plan that kicks in as predications of severe weather mount, according to Dennis Curtin, director of public relations. “With you hear the weather reports you know the kinds of things that people are going to be looking for – water, ice, batteries, milk – and we make sure that the stores are stocked with those things and when the supplies start to run low we have the ability to replenish them and make sure the stores get more,” Curtin says. The chain is also ready …
Monday, August 29, 2011
Traub's Doggies one of many shops in the borough looked at by Health Inspector following power outages caused by Hurricane Irene.
The owner of Traub’s Doggies had a surprise waiting for him when he went to work this morning compliments of Hurricane of Irene. “There was a note on the door from the health inspector saying we were closed for business until further notice,” says Kirby Traub, who has run the popular Emmaus eatery for the past 15 years. Traub typically opens to customers at 11 a.m. on Monday and heads to work for about 9 a.m. to get ready for the lunch crowd. The notice from the health inspector was there when he arrived. About 15 minutes later, the health inspector returned and made a thorough check of Traub’s supplies, telling him to throw away between $400 and $500 worth of inventory, including things like potato and macaroni salad, chocolate milk, BBQ …
Jennifer Marangos
9:42 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Thanks for sharing your stories Missy and Tina. Missy -- our game of choice was Battlehship. And Tina -- I can totally appreciate the hauling of water for the bathroom. A light bulb finally went on for us and we started to pump the water from the basement into buckets for the bathroom. When life hands you lemons... more ›