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Community Corner

Shelton Orders Mandatory Evacuation of The Maples

But many residents of The Maples say they will wait out Hurricane Irene in their homes anyway.

The Shelton Fire Department has ordered a mandatory evacuation of The Maples as of 6 p.m. Saturday, but many residents say they will wait out Hurricane Irene in their homes.

"We have a high-enough sea wall. In the 10 years we’ve been here it hasn’t come up over our sea wall," explained Chris Duhancik, one of the residents.

Many residents of The Maples on Saturday afternoon were not even convinced that the evacuation order was mandatory or just strongly recommended.

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They had received recorded telephone calls from the Shelton Police beginning Thursday warning them to begin taking precautions. Police Lt. Robert Koslowsky issued a press release Saturday around 1 p.m. which said the evacuation was mandatory.

The Maples is a small community of homes along the Housatonic River near Indian Well State Park. Originally they were seasonal cottages, but most have been converted to year-round homes, and many have raised foundations to protect them from flooding.

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Ned and Lisa Roshkind own one of those raised homes. They said the only way they would get endangered by flooding is if the Stevenson Dam ruptured upstream.

"There was no mandatory evacuation," said Lisa. "They just recommended it."

"If the dam breaks, we’re leaving," Ned added.

Fire Commissioner Tim Manion drove down the street at about 3 p.m. advising residents to take the evacuation order seriously.

He said after 6 p.m., the Shelton Fire Department would not respond to The Maples out of concern for the safety of firefighters.

Manion said emergency preparedness officials predicted rain and wind starting after dark on Saturday, with winds reaching tropical storm force levels around 11 p.m. and hurricane force gusts on Sunday.

"It’s going to be hard to get around," Manion said. "There’s going to be a lot of trees down."

The Maples has repeatedly flooded out over the years during hurricanes and nor’easter storms, most recently last March when the Stevenson Dam released water from Lake Zoar. The flood, which occurred during the middle of the night, angered many residents, who felt city failed in its responsibility to notify them.

"I want to know why they are making it mandatory," said Richard Machnicz, who add had no plans to evacuate. It was his opinion that city officials ordered the evacuation to avoid criticism because of their failure to warn The Maples residents last March.

Manion confirmed that the Stevenson Dam and other dams upstream on the Housatonic River had released as much water as they could to compensate for the approaching hurricane, which might bring as much as five to 10 inches of rain to Connecticut in the next 24 hours.

The Maples residents said they noticed the level of the river was higher than normal.

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