JCP&L is no where to be found in long valley , revoke their license. Thank you DUKE Energy! The mayor needs a way to communicate to everyone if an emergency situation happens and we are without power/ internet. Have someone go around on the firetruck giving us an update. We were literally left in the dark.

It seems to me, that JCP&L has 'severely underestimated the assessments it made for Washington Township' repeatedly through the last few years! The only new thing is that they admitted it this time around. Praying for the rest of the township to be restored soon!

Will they tell us what areas will not have power by today?

Beacon Hill, Tall Timber Dr., Sierra Drive, Waldon Rd. are still without power and lines continue to dangle on Beacon Hill just before crossing into Tewksbury Twp. We may have a Califon address, but we are Washington Township!!

Does Old Farmers Road School have power?

It is beyond appalling that the beacon hill area is without power and finally after 14 days only a tree person shows up! Our elected officials failed us as did JCPL. I am extremely frustrated and upset and I think we need to be compensated!!!!!!

It seems all the trucks are currently in my driveway. There are about a dozen trucks all together cutting trees, replacing our 2 poles and stringing wire. However, the word is that the line to our area (West Valleybrook) isn't "hot" yet so that will have to be activated before our section of town can expect power. They said maybe tonight.

Mayor Short leaves town on vacation in middle of this crisis. Shameful. We need his re-election recalled.

This article should have read "Long Valley left in the dark while Mayor Short vacations in Aruba." I really love the Patch but you have missed the mark on this one. Jason...why do you continue to ignore the fact that the mayor skipped town? Barely a mention of it here. The town relies on you for accuracy, and you are not reporting it like it is....stop protecting Mayor Short and report the news.

For what it's worth, I'm glad Tracy Tobin isinvolved. Over the last few years, he has at least made an effort to pursue the problem JCP&L while others have ignored it.

LV is the joke of NJ. Wonder what this debacle does to our home values. Will anybody want to buy here so I can get out??

I called JCP&L daily to demand specific information. They can certainly identify which home is in which sub-station and on which circuit, that's how they determine the repair routes as they pick the ones with more homes as priority. But the company choose not to tell residents these information "due to security reasons" or any number of other excuses. The good people of Washington Township have the right to get these information. Township officials should consider file a lawsuit against the company for witholding the information and demand reparation for both resulting sufferings of township residents. We should look to the example of Long Island people to protect ourselves.

Eventually this will all be behind us and power will be restored to everyone. It will be up to the residents of Washington township and Long Valley to then come together and hold accountable everyone responsible for restoring power in a timely manner. Obviously a Mayor who doesn't cancel a vacation during his towns biggest crisis in history is not and should not be a leader on our community. Stronger leadership would have assessed our towns destruction as extremely high and passed that along to JCP&L. Obviously that didn't happen as JCP&L readily admitted that they underestimated the destruction. I hope future leaders will do a better job in making sure our town is a priority not nearly an afterthought to a vacation.

Yes Jason, our elected officials whereabouts is a concern. Are they out of town because they are in Trenton or on Gov Christie's doorstep demanding help or on vacation? It goes to the character of our "leaders''. We need their representation now.

Do we know for a fact that the Mayor went on vacation? If so, he should just resign or we should demand an impeachment.

Let's hope as residents we don't forget to hold our leaders accountable after the power goes on!! Many people speak out on these forums, but will they show up when their lights go on or will they quickly forget?? Hopefully, positive changes will come of all of this, but only if we continue to speak out and show up after the lights are all on!

Unless it was a death, birth, or a marriage, I find any vacation by a leader to be beyond appalling. As a veteran who has had leadership responsibility, I find it appropriate, on Veteran's day, that I find this news nugget about our leadership possibly vacating the town in it's hour of deepest need. If found to be true, Mayor Short will not run unopposed next time. I guarantee it.

Jason, at the very least, the major news story of the day is "Residents Outraged as Mayor Vacations During Crisis". Totally factual. Whether you think his presence would have helped get us power faster is moot.

I am appalled and feel very abandoned. The lack of communication the first week and change was bad. This is unbelievable.

Incidentally, I meant to say thanks to Mr. Tobin and Mr. Kennedy for their efforts.

Severely underestimated - no @$&* - Our township officials lobby for us & need to provide initial feedback in a crisis - been driving by downed trees & wires & hundreds of uprooted trees - doesn't take much to realize the severity of our township & Morris County... Now the Mayor & Vice Mayor are on vacation - dereliction of duty IMPEACHMENT - driving by duke crew I asked how's it going long story they said it is worse here than sone shore areas and THEY COULDN'T GET IN TOUCH WITH THE TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS FOR PERMISSION TO TURN ON EAST MILL/24 !!! I drove to TWNship office closed of course despite sat & crisis I'd be there if was mayor- then drove to police station to pass on message for mayor- 15 min later main street came hot...
Can't wait for the debrief on this when Ken returns from Aruba...
Capt Morrissey USMC
Happy Veterans' Day

2 weeks to assess that the down trees will delay restoration. That's because we were ignored for the first week and a half.

Anybody in this town who wants to "lead" is certainly welcome to step up to the plate and "lead". I guarantee you that you will have exactly the same amount of power and influence over JCP&L that the mayor has, which is to say, NONE.

Jon, even in the absence of ability to influence, leaders are expected to lead by example, and the one undeniable creed is this "never ask those you lead to do something you are unwilling to do yourself." Anyone can lead with the indisputable ability to influence results. True leadership is defined by realizing results absent defined and mandtatory compliance to your directives. Thinking outside of the box? Forget the box, crush the box, burn the box...get it done. THAT is leadership.

Jason,

The fact that the mayor AND vice-mayor went on vacation is indeed news and will in fact help get power restored if the town residents AND JCP&L representatives are assuming they are present and working the problem and they in fact are not even present. Those needing to communicate with town officials need to know who and where to go.

The fact that this total abdication of responsibility on the part of the mayor and vice- mayor took place should be made public on a factual basis; it happened, it is news, and it should be reported appropriately so that it can be a part of the public record.

What about the rest of our elected officials? Leaders shine when things are at their worst. Except for the meeting Friday before the mayor left, why did it take so long for Toby to communicate? Were his hands tied? Over communicating in a situation like this is key. Theses patch blogs have been going since 8th and the message was the same, this place is a disaster! Did any of our leaders really take the time to drive around town and provide jcpl with the appropriate assessment? And if so, how was the pressure applied. Or did they just go with the jcpl flow? Many questions with many answers expected and some kind of town retrobution.

Jon, based on other municipalities in the area I have to disagree. The mayors of Tewksbury, Bernardsville, Harding and others have been very active in communicating to their citizens and VERY vocal about their situations, and they have gotten power back more quickly despite being hit as hard or harder than we did. If JCP&L didn't fully know the extent of the damage we have, I blame our leadership for failing to drive the point home to them.

Out today utility workers said they sat for 2 days at Rockaway Mall waiting for a work order.  Others, we're told waited 5 days.  Really Mr. Supervisor??  People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.  I don't care where our mayor is, vacation or Trenton.  The fact is one does not wait until day 11 to begin communicating with your residents.  Then have the communication just reiterate JCPL's nonsense and that just ads fuels to our outrage.  Where's your disaster plan Mr.Short?  You said you'd have one after last years disaster and still nothing.  What seems to be the problem????  Maybe impeachment proceedings might light a fire under your a#@!!!!

So, has anyone tweeted to the news about the mayor and vice mayor going on vacation? That is one that CBS, NBC, ABC, and probably CNN would make a trip out here to cover. I can just see this story on the national news!

FYI, a couple guys in a bucket truck told me we cannot expect power today. We live at the corner of Naughright and Farirview, These are the first guys we have seen and then they drove off into the sunset to leave us in the dark one or more nights.

this is all very confusing, and i think there is a lot of misinformation flying around. we had trucks on our street the day after the hurricane, so the "sitting at rockaway mall for two days" idea doesn't make any sense. maybe that was one crew, or one company. this was a giant disaster, in every sense of the word- weather-wise, leadership-wise, communication-wise.

@ Cecile Marie....are you for real....call the national news agencies? I am pretty sure that our township committee is VOLUNTEER.

Don't confuse my statement with a passing grade on the township committee's leadership, but really, get a grip. What's done is done, and it is clear that the right people(utility workers) are in town and making headway.

Are you putting your name on the ballet next year?

Sheesh.

So, is there enough incentive to recall Mr. Short?

I think the name of this article should read: "Short and Roehrich Abandon Ship"

Wake up Jason! The mayor's whereabouts isn't newsworthy?? I cannot believe what I am reading. What are you thinking?? This is journalism 101. A story like this is literally dumped into your lap and you don't report it??

Apparently since we just re-elected him this week, he can't be recalled for a year.

Bummer. But we can start the process....

It may be a long process....not too soon to begin.

Jason: Thank you for providing the town with much need information throughout the storm. Everyone that I have spoken to agrees that without all of your updates, this town would have been completely in the dark, literally and figuratively. It is a job well done and I personally appreciate it.
That being said, I respectfully disagree on your opinion regarding the mayor. Many people are still without power and want to know why the mayor would go on vacation during these unprecedented times. I would like to see a story about this and believe it is important to the town.

Underestimated???? That's the excuse now? Isn't it JCPL's job to be able to estimate when power will be restored? Oh what am I saying, JCPL is never held accountable. Still without power but with dangling wires on Fairview Ave.

I heard that Mayor Short plans to have an extra pina colada this evening dedicated to the citizens still without power that he left behind.

Try calling JCP&L at this number 888 544 4877 see if that helps.

I don't think it is fair to blame Mayor Short for this mess. This is a storm whose effects have cut across many towns and all socio-economic boundaries. Friends of mine just got their power back last night in Short Hills and Peapack -- after 12 days in the dark, a friend of mine is still without power in Morristown, my aunt in Warren Twp. just got her power back today. So this has hit every town and every family in one way or another. We do need to find a way to impress on the power companies that they need to find a better way to assess the situation and then tell people the truth from the very beginning -- so that people can plan their lives and prepare their homes for long-term outages if that's the case. So many things broke down -- our power went out, our cell phones no longer worked or worked sporadically, we ran out of gas, the communication network around the state was really non-existent for the first few days. We need to learn from this, not blame one or two people. We need to pull together and find solutions!

Domino seems to be the one & only source of the news that the mayor is in Aruba. How reliable is that?

You mayor short supporters need to lift your heads out of his lap. He failed, our representatives failed and JCP&L failed. A total lack of leadership and accountability from all those we rely on.

Reading through the thread above, I still do not know if in fact BOTH our mayor and vice mayor deserted the town and went on vacation. I found that a bit incredulous and unfathomable. I voted for the mayor on 11/06 since there's no other choice, and I thought he was just being a bit naive to have believed in a utility monoply's PR nonsense. I just moved to this Twp in July so I am clueless of its bylaws and city government's performance track record. If this vacation story is indeed true, I'll be the first one to raise hand and voluteer my time to join anyone who wants to get him ejected. Does the township have any other ways of communicating with its residents, like a news bulletin, township website, Facebook page etc.?

Last year, some of us were without power for almost 10 days, there was a township meeting with JCP&L. My husband and I attended as well as about 50 other residents. Where were the rest of you irate citizens? Oh, the outage didn't impact your lives directly so you couldn't find the time to attend or you thought your 'neighbors' were going and could 'fill you in'? Hopefully, if and when there is a meeting this year, more of these very vocal irate residents can find the time to attend and make their voices heard. Change can only happen if we band together and speak with a unified voice. Thank you, Jason for keeping all of us informed.

The news story indicated that the mayor is out of town, and at least one or two other people posted the same information about the mayor (and frankly, it sounded more reliable) - look in threads of other recent stories. So far I haven't seen anyone correct the rumor. I hope it's wrong but don't think so.

Again, I don't think anyone is blaming the mayor for the extensive damage or for JCP&L's shortcomings. But I do believe it was his job to maintain a presence here, communicate to the citizens regularly and communicate to JCP&L the urgency of our situation. At this point I'm unconvinced that he succeeded in any of these aspects of his responsibilities.

For those saying "are you going to step up and take a leadership role?" - The bungling of this storm's aftermath has me seriously considering it.

For those of you that are doubting whether the mayor and vice- mayor have left town, please re- read the above article. Tracy Tobin states there that both the mayor and vice-mayour have left town. I was told by a township employee that the mayor is on vacation in Aruba; a fact, regardless of how unfathomable this may seem.

I have not heard any information on where the vice-mayor might be.

Jason unfortunately is unwilling to address this directly as news, which I find very disappointing given that many of us still do not have electricity.

Directly from the initial article above: Tobin, who is still without power himself, was providing information from the Washington Township Police Department, while committeemen Dave Kennedy and Jim LiaBraaten were driving through the township and communicating with Duke Energy managers.

Mayor Ken Short and Vice Mayor Bill Roehrich are currently out of town, Tobin said.

This from Ross Morrissey, Capt USMC post: driving by duke crew I asked how's it going long story they said it is worse here than some shore areas and THEY COULDN'T GET IN TOUCH WITH THE TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS FOR PERMISSION TO TURN ON EAST MILL/24 !!! I drove to TWNship office closed of course despite sat & crisis I'd be there if was mayor- then drove to police station to pass on message for mayor- 15 min later main street came hot...

No one was doing this before today? and if they were is wasn't communicated to the masses. A few volunteers could have helped out all week. How about all the able bodied people who with proper direction could have removed trees? All the kids were out of school, surely the high schoolers could have been put to work to end the misery sooner, with supervision.

The lack of appropriate leadership before today is painfully obvious, thank you Tracy, Jim and Dave for stepping up. In some respects it may be to our favor that the mayor left town.

Test

I see no difference if the mayor is here or not. Even when he is in town he is useless.

Still no power for Naughright from Fairview to Squire Hill/Ranney. Guess we are last!

Power is back on west valley brook rd from Beacon Hill to Vernoy as near as I can tell

We have electrici!!! at the corner of Naughright and Fairview. We can see lights in both directions on Fairview so we hope our neighbors up the hill have electric too. Still dangerous though with trees still threatening the lines, maybe the tree crews will show up tomorrow.

For what its worth, no one on the town council should be given any kudos at this point for their efforts. Way too little way too late. It's like whip cream on a pile of dog sh#$.

For those of you interested, we spoke with Mayor Ken Short this evening. In a letter to the residents, here's what he wanted to say: http://patch.com/A-z10K

Mayor - we all support you. You have done an outstanding job. You took on the county, state and jcpl. If anyone wants your role and efforts, go for it.

I know there is a lot anger. I was without power for 10 days. I lost money and time. But today I felt an overwhelming sadness. I look around at our beautiful trees that lie, beaten to the ground -- everywhere. I think that in my lifetime, I will never see these trees again. It will take 50 to 100 years for them to return, and I will be gone. Many of us will be. What this storm has inspired within me is to think about what home really means. I've concluded that home is the place and the circumstances that allow you to be who you really are. This storm has inspired me to rethink every aspect of my life. Maybe this is why mother nature throws storms at us -- to force us to think and rethink.

For the rest of LV - after 2 weeks learning that peeps from LV didn't even report to jcpl that they had zip power. Really? Report your outage, then report it DAILY. If you can't help yourselves than stop cranking. Read your jcpl bill.

Call JCPL _ and if you don't have the guts to post your real name than go away!

We have no power on Fleming Ct. Wolfe run and Fairmount road as well as those off of and surrounding have power but we still do not. It is 1040.

Long Valley winers?

Duke Energy set up their operations center at the middle school this weekend. I learned that on the Patch.

Why didn't you drive there yesterday or today to record your power outage issues?

So cry elsewhere.

Squire Hill, Ranney and Naughright from Fairview North STILL WITHOUT POWER, DESPITE 3 DAYS OF ASSURANCES THAT CREWS WORKING ON OUR CIRCUIT WOULD NOT STOP UNTIL THE JOB WAS FINISHED. WHY CAN'T PEOPLE JUST TELL THE TRUTH?? 95% of Township now connected by 11:59?? Maybe others who got power early will forget about all this, but my family will never forget this fiasco...from top to bottom, everyone involved were about as informative and useful as a second _________ .

When everyone's power is restored maybe we should try to fix some items:
The township communication was lacking for the first week and a half.
JCP&L neither communicated, assessed, prioritized or repaired our service correctly.
Customers were not prepared for a 7-10 day power outage. I am sure there are more.

Team Casper

NO Township Official has any authority to tell Energy Repair crews to TURN ON AN Electrical Circuit! Duke Energy company's Full Time Professsional Disaster Recovery Team has experienced full time engineers/line crews/safety officers/etc. who determine if a line is safe to turn on. A working crew can complete repairs on their section of a circuit, but the management professionals from Duke Energy made the decision as to when the lines go live. Rightly so, because they knew when it was safe to do so. Duke Energy employees, from the people working on the physical repairs to the Senior Managers on site are some of the best people I have dealt with. They don't need a local municipal elected official or employee "juggling their elbow" and constantly asking them "Can't you turn on the electric in this area now? People need their power back now". Some of these professionals worked on Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. They know how residents suffer w/o power and heat and the frustration of not being able to get and answer as to when power will be back on. There were five of their work crews (25-30 people) working steadily at the Naughright Road/Arrowhead Drive intersection Friday night and most of Saturday in order to make repairs that opened up a long section of Naughright Road late in the day on Saturday, restoring power to a large number of homes. Do you think they worked slowly and without any concern or sense of urgency? I don't think so.

with residents like Lolita in this twp who needs the Taliban. Lolita is a burned out, depressed idiot with rotting teeth and an ugly grin. Look out for him. Funny he doesn't realize halloween is over.

I don't understand the thought process of people who say, "If you don't like it, why don't you run for mayor". If I wanted to be mayor, I would...but I don't. Mr. Short chose to run, (albeit unchallenged) and with that comes his responsibility in leadership. While I would hope to imagine he is doing all that he can from Aruba...it really was a poor choice to take this trip during this unprecedented situation. It doesn't matter if the trip was booked eight months or eight days ago. I always purchase cancellation insurance and I'm a "nobody". Maybe that should be thought of next time. With all due respect, Mr. Short, this really is a slap in the face to those of us who were lucky enough to sleep in our own beds for the first time in two weeks.

Let's use common sense here. Ken Short is a politician. Politicians know better than anyone the power of peoples' perceptions. Ken absolutely knew what many people in LV would say if he went to Aruba in the middle of a disaster. He chose to go anyway which tells me he was willing to live with the consequences. Period.

The job of mayor is a serious job. Mayor Bloomberg of NYC works for $1 a year and performs his job as though he were paid. (not commenting on how well, just that he puts in the effort and time). He receives and takes constant criticism for his actions and does not mention he works for no pay.

No one in Washington Township wants to run for mayor, and it is extremely difficult to get someone to run, so maybe we need to consider an alternative.

Is there an alternative governmental structure to consider for Washington Township? Could we "join" another township and share a mayor and board?

I read Mayor Short's letter and many comments posted there. Thanks Jason. My conclusion is this: 1. This town needs a new vision, to be both a green AND a smart town AND with lower tax. 2. Mayor Short aparenrly is a good spirited, hard-working administrator, but he is not the type of transformational leader this town needs for the good times nor a crisis leader we can rely on at bad times.

MTSO
Sorry to be so late in responding to your question re the long period from when the storm hit and when Duke Energy crews started working on the Naughright/Arrowhead blockage. The crews had to travel from North Carolina to New Jersey, which is at least a two day trip, with the heavy repair equipment/trucks/supplies. I believe they were in Reading PA at one point, but don't know if it was a stopping point on the way or whether they were diverted by powr problems in that area. They then had to get their assignments from JCP&L re the area they were supposed to work on, electrical circuits in their assigned areas, assess the damage and materials/equipment needed for repairs and work their way from the electrical substation supplying the area (assuming it was still in operation). They had to work their way down Naughright Road from the Mt. Olive border, restoring power at Cuccinella School along the way, until they reached the Naughright/Arrowhead junction where they found an incredible tangle of trees/power poles/electrical & communications wires/damaged or destroyed transformers, etc. They had to clear downed & dangerous trees, make repairs, remove & replace new power poles & transformers, test the repaired lines and be sure they did not place anyone in jeopardy when the lines went live. All in all I think they did a terrific job, with no loss of life or serious injuries.

but prior to the storm even hitting JCPL said they already sent out the SOS signal....to give crews from afar the heads up and to get here....so coming in late doesn't cut it with me