Municipal Center is a Draw

Jonathan and Jila Bick brought a power strip with them and used it to plug in their cell phones, laptops and even an electronic toothbrush Monday afternoon at the Municipal Center.

It wasn't ideal but without electricity, a non-working generator, low firewood supplies and an 85-year-old elderly relative at home, they said they needed a place to regroup and call around asking for firewood supplies, particularly if the outage was going to last a week.

Their son, Dylan Bick, was glad there but he wasn't happy sitting around doing nothing.

"I would rather be playing games at home," he said.

Still, the center offered them some respite, and some semblance of normalcy.

"That's the only thing working right," Jila Bick, 48, said of her electronic toothbrush that was getting recharged.

Jonathan Bick said his main concern was looking for ways to get firewood delivered and expertise from someone who could fix the family's generator, which was not working.

The center, which is considered a warming area in the town, has drawn dozens of residents looking for a place to recharge batteries and just hang out. The town also has set up a shelter at Newtown Middle School, which is another warming center with showers available – though only two private ones open for use. Residents also can stay overnight at the middle school.

The Municipal Center, which is only opened until 9 p.m., also drew the Hankin family to it Sunday night. They had been out driving and then decided to head to the Municipal Center after hearing that it was open to the public. The family lost electricity at 10:30 p.m., Saturday and several tree limbs on their property by the time the storm had passed through.

"It didn't seem bad during the storm," Baxter Hankin, 14, said, adding that his view changed after he and his father drove around assessing the damage and compared it to the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene. "It is worse this time. It seems like there's more damage and more people without power."

Robin Abrams, 28, of Newtown, also decided to spend time at the Municipal Center Sunday night and she had planned to head to the middle school to spend the night. Abrams said she was ready for the storm but didn't want to be by herself without any electricity with tree limbs still falling down.

"It's nice to be around other people," she said. "(There's) safety in numbers."