Winthrop Fared Well: DPW, Town Officials Were Well-prepare

The Blizzard of 2013 was every bit as big and far-reaching as predicted by local meteorologists. Our Town of Winthrop was well-prepared and rebounded well from the fifth-biggest storm in this region’s history. Respecting the forecast for a monumental snowstorm, Town Manager James McKenna assembled his team and came up with a plan to fight the storm, plow the streets, and make sure Winthrop residents were safe and had an option if evacuation became necessary in certain parts of the town.

As it turned out, the town did a great job battling and recovering from the storm, outperforming virtually all of the communities in this area. McKenna was the leader of this fine plan, but the town manager and Town Council President Peter Gill (who has a letter to the editor in this week’s Sun-Transcript) were quick to credit the outstanding leadership and marathon effort of DPW Director Steve Calla and the DPW work force,  who were in the streets non-stop for as many as 36 hours straight; Fire Chief Paul Flanagan and Winthrop firefighters, who did an extraordinary job when conditions worsened in certain parts of the town; and Police Chief Terence Delehanty and his department, who assisted many residents during the storm and helped enforce the statewide traffic ban.

Former Town Councilor Jeanne Maggio and her Medical Reserve Corps were on their volunteer duty and ready to assist residents at the Cummings School site. And of course, Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo, Congressman Edward J. Markey, and Massport Executive Director Thomas Glynn — as Mr. Gill points out in his letter — were instrumental in providing additional equipment and manpower so that Winthrop could “dig out” from the storm and return to our regular way of life.

By Tuesday, our students had returned to school  and we saw Winthrop Police Officers doing an exceptional job directing traffic at the entrance to Kennedy Drive and the Fort Banks Gorman School where the traffic situation was made even more challenging that it usually is because of the aftermath of the snowstorm.

The residents will agree that Mr. McKenna and all those who participated in this snowfighting effort deserve a big “thank you” from all of us.

For those who were around for the  Blizzard of 1978 and the devastating effects from that storm for days and days, it was nice to see Winthrop recover quickly from the Blizzard of 2013.