Cathy Osten

Sen. Osten Bill Would Fund Generator Purchase for RHAM

HARTFORD – A bill put forward by state Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague) and voted out of the Appropriations Committee today calls for the purchase of a backup electrical generator to be installed at RHAM High School in Hebron, thereby allowing the 256,000-square foot facility to be used as a regional emergency shelter during adverse weather events and other catastrophes.

Sen. Osten’s Senate Bill 95, “AN ACT CONCERNING FUNDING FOR A GENERATOR PURCHASE TO ALLOW THE HIGH SCHOOL IN HEBRON TO BE USED AS AN EMERGENCY SHELTER,” was referred today from the Appropriations Committee to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee for further consideration. The bill seeks up to $2 million in state funding for the generator, installation and related equipment.

“Like most other towns, Hebron has libraries and churches and town offices that can provide temporary shelter for people in certain circumstances. But it’s certainly not optimal and it’s certainly not for the kind of long-term need that we would find with a blizzard or a hurricane or a long-term power outage,” Sen. Osten said. “There’s no reason why the residents of Hebron or Andover or Marlborough should have to drive to Windham or Colchester to seek long-term shelter in an emergency. The high school is safe, it’s modern, it’s centrally located, it has the room, and all it needs is a generator to keep the lights and heat working.”

RHAM High School, located off Route 316 in Hebron, serves about 1,200 students from Hebron, Andover and Marlborough. It was competed in 2003 at a cost of $50.5 million and features a glass atrium entrance, classrooms, a gymnasium, an open cafeteria, a lecture hall, a library/media center, and an 800-seat auditorium.