As many of you know, there is a major winter storm forecasted for our area, which will include significant snowfall and strong winds. It is anticipated that there will be light snow showers falling intermittently throughout the daylight hours today, with the storm picking up in intensity later this afternoon. The snowfall is expected increase drastically this evening and during the overnight hours, with the possibility of several inches of snow falling each hour until the storm tapers off on Tuesday night. The forecast is calling for a total of 1-2 feet of snow.

The Town of Ramapo Highway Department is duly prepared to handle the oncoming storm, and will be out in force with their equipment to salt our town roads and plow our streets to ensure safe passage of emergency vehicles that may have to venture out into the storm in order to respond to emergencies. That being said, I urge all of our residents to stay off of the roads unless it is absolutely necessary. With blizzard-like conditions expected, all non-essential travel should be avoided and our residents should ideally stay at home and avoid driving.

I encourage everyone to make certain that they are prepared for possible power outages due to the forecast of strong winds and heavy snow, which could potentially pull down trees and power lines.

In addition, I urge all of our residents to think about an elderly neighbor or relative who may be impacted by the storm and to take steps to check on them and offer assistance if necessary.

Ramapo Town Hall is open today during regular business hours and will be open tomorrow, Tuesday, January 27, as well. In addition, the Ramapo Police Department can always be contacted in the event of an emergency at 845-357-2400 or by dialing 911.

Due to the severe weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow, Interstate Waste is not going to be collecting garbage tomorrow, Tuesday, January 27 in unincorporated Ramapo. They will resume recycling collection on Wednesday, January 27. The regular Monday/Thursday garbage collection in unincorporated Ramapo will not be affected this week, but the regular Tuesday/Friday garbage collection will only be picked up on Friday, January 30.

Further, due to the inclement weather, the Ramapo Town Board workshop meeting originally scheduled for 8:00 this evening is postponed until 7:00 PM on Wednesday to be followed by the regularly scheduled Town Board meeting at 8:00 PM.

All sessions of the Ramapo Justice Court are canceled tonight, Monday, January 26, and all day tomorrow, Tuesday, January 27. All matters scheduled for tonight have been rescheduled to Monday night, February 2, 2015. Matters scheduled for Tuesday, January 27 have been rescheduled to Tuesday, February 3, 2015.

I encourage all of our residents to stay safe during the storm. Please do not hesitate to contact my office at 845-357-5100 if we can be of any assistance.

Sincerely yours,
Christopher P. St. Lawrence
Supervisor, Town of Ramapo

(YWN Monsey Newsroom)