Taking Advantage of Shelter at Wayland Middle School

It may not be home, but it will do on a cold night when power remains out for much of the Town of Wayland.

As of about 8:30 p.m. Sunday night, nearly 50 people had sought services at the emergency shelter at Wayland Middle School in the wake of Saturday night's early-season snow storm that downed trees and power lines throughout town. 

As of its 8 p.m. update, NSTAR was reporting 51 percent (2,758) of its 5,405 Wayland customers remained without power.

Shelter Manager Joe Boykin said he estimated anywhere from a dozen to a hundred people would seek overnight accommodations at the shelter, where cots were set up in the school's gymnasium. Officials decided to open the shelter for overnight accomodations around 5 p.m. today for Wayland and surrounding towns such as Framingham, where a reverse 911 call alerted residents to the shelter in Wayland.

The majority of people who had passed through the shelter had come to charge cell phones or use the computers in the library. One high schooler brought a college application to work on, Boykin said.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see a dozen, and I wouldn't be surprised to see 100," said Boykin, who expected more overnighters would arrive late Sunday night. 

One family, including two boys, arrived at the school just after 8:30, saying they'd been without power since midnight Saturday into Sunday. 

There was no way to tell how cold their house was, "but we can see our breath," said Kim Kashian of Wayland.

The family brought their dog to the school, where CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) volunteers had set up separate rooms to house cats and dogs. 

"I think it'll be an adventure," Kashian said of the family's upcoming night at the shelter.