The Plainville
Cit itiz ize en
Volume 10, Number 6
Plainville’s Only Weekly Newspaper
Thursday, Februar y 10, 2011
Church plows ahead in wake of building collapse
Other structures in Plainville damaged by snow By Julie Sopchak and Robin Lee Michel The Plainville Citizen
Call it a blessing in disguise. The roof of the Congregational Church of Plainville meeting hall, also known as Kelsey Hall, collapsed on Feb. 1 at the same time there was supposed to be a dinner event for new committees. The Rev. Claire Bamberg, pastor, estimated about 70 to 100 people would have attended. No one was at the church, however, because of the harsh weather. “Whole families would have been in there,” she said. “So when you look at it in that perspective, OK, yeah, we lost some things that are irreplaceable — things. No people.” In the aftermath, the sadness is a given, but the opti-
mism is abundant, Bamberg said. “The church is really looking at this as an opportunity to say, ‘OK, now we can abate and get things out of there
Repeated snow storms challenge Plainville Roadways Department By Robin Lee Michel The Plainville Citizen It seems as if the Plainville Roadways Department is not getting a break this winter. As soon as the crew gets snow and ice removed from the 40 miles of roads, there is another snow or ice storm. “It’s unpredictable,” said Shawn Waddell, Roadways Department employee and
operator of one of the snow plows. One of the biggest challenges to what seems like a non-stop cleanup process is residents. Right after the plows clean the roads, people shovel the snow back onto the streets, said Dominick Moschini, Roadways Department superintendent. See Roadways, page 6
that shouldn’t have been ... but now we can relieve ourselves of materials and structures. When I saw the damage to the downstairs, I thought, ‘OK, God really does want us to have air conditioning,’” Bamberg said. “And so the church is looking at this as, ‘We’re going to come back strong, better, and we’re going to take care of some of these things that have bugged See Church, page 7 Photo by the Rev. Claire Bamberg
Top, crews work Feb. 3 to demolish the meeting hall at the Congregational Church of Plainville following its collapse. Right, a Quonset hut being used for storage, shows a crack in its facade on Feb. 3; the building came down the next day.
Photos by Zachariah Cole