Buried in snow

By Becky Uehling

Grant Tribune-Sentinel

Before the remnants of the last snowstorms had a chance to completely disappear, Perkins County and surrounding areas were dumped on again. Snow fell for about 24 hours from approximately 11 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17 until nearly midnight Wednesday, Jan. 18.

The storm caused closures of businesses and roadways and compounded the snow removal issues faced by employees in communities across the Hi-Line, residents and business owners. The sun reappeared Thursday, Jan. 19 as people began to dig out.

 County

County maintainers have been working hard in the county to get roads open, according to Commissioner Steve Tucker. 

“They headed out when the storm subsided Thursday morning,” Tucker said. “Drifted snow on top of muddy roads, and the snow already accumulated, made for difficult challenges.”

Tucker said that maintainer operators found conditions difficult as it was extremely hard to tell where the roads were. 

“It happened more than once that they would find themselves off the road and in the ditch,” Tucker said.

Grant

According to Grant City Administrator Edward Dunn, Grant received 16” of snow from last week’s storm total for the most recent storm, and approximately 40” of snow this winter. 

Like all of the communities across the Hi-Line, moving snow has been the biggest hurdle for Grant. However, the City hired Keith Yost, Sheldon Geisbrecht, Martin Doolittle, Al Doolittle, and Jared Potts to help. 

“This is the most snow we have had on the ground for this long in decades,” he said. “Our biggest hurdle going forward with snow removal will be getting drainage opened up when it finally warms up enough again to start melting the snow and ice beneath. Compacted snow and ice on all streets will be an issue well into the upcoming months.” 

Most of the snow is being moved near the roll off dumpster area by the ballfields, he said.

Dunn said they appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as the city tries to tackle “these monumental issues.”

Villages

The villages are also pulling together to get streets cleaned.  None of the four villages reported any major issues with the storm.

According to Tami Cook with the Village of Elsie the county continues to do a great job clearing the streets for the village. 

“So many of our community members are also wonderful about volunteering their time and equipment,” Cook said.

In Madrid, according to Angela Hanson, Ken Kohmetscher assisted with the initial snow removal, and the village continues the work. 

“We were out of room to pile snow, and could not locate a pay loader, so Darryl Koehn agreed to assist with his pay loader, truck and crew so we could haul it out,” Hanson said.

Tucker reported that Venango was quiet during the storm, and Mary May in Wallace said besides the village working diligently to remove snow, things are “business as usual,” she said. “I think besides school, everything else was open during the storm.”