A Week Without Power

Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County - One week after Sandy slammed the Northeast, some people in our area still don't have power. Some roads remain closed.

Alfred Frantz said he was in his Middle Smithfield Township home when Sandy arrived Monday. He said he heard something snap. He recalled, "Oh man she gave a crack. It made a real loud noise."

Then his house went dark. His Grandson brought him a small generator but it didn't power much. Frantz said, "The freezer is in the cellar, we don't know if we lost everything in there or not."

His neighbor Catherine Napoli has also spent the week without electricity. She said, "[I've had] candles and sitting with a blanket on the couch. You know just day by day."

So Alfred and Catherine were very excited to see an electric crew roll onto their street. Catherine smiled, "I was just so happy! It was like Christmas!"

While that crew worked in Middle Smithfield Township, others got to hard hit areas in Hamilton Township. Some workers came from halfway across the country. Catherine was thankful for them. She said, "I'm just happy it's over. That's all."

She's looking forward to having lights and heat. She's also thinking of people who won't have those anytime soon. She noted, "I have family from Brooklyn and they had four feet of flooding in their basement and they are elderly people."

Electric companies in Monroe County expect all customers to have their power restored by Wednesday.