Officials say roadways surprisingly calm

By JOHN DEMPSEY
Tribune staff writer

February 13, 2007 09:40 pm

— Emergencies in snow-bound Kokomo and Howard County were few and far between Tuesday, according to public officials.
And all agreed it was due to the fact people paid heed to Monday’s warnings about the possible blizzard conditions and prepared for it.
“Everything is running slow. People are paying attention to what the officials are telling them,” said Larry Smith, director of Howard County Emergency Management Agency. “The industries took a good hard look at this thing and realized it’s not just a 6- or 8-inch snowfall.”
Kokomo police responded to only two accidents on Tuesday’s day shift and two more on the afternoon shift.
“People are, for the most part, driving very defensively. We’ve had a couple minor motor vehicle accidents but no reported injuries,” KPD Maj. John Brown said. “We’re very grateful to them for their patience.
“We’re still encouraging people to stay off the streets. The less traffic there is the more expeditiously the city street crews can clear the streets and make it a safer situation for everyone.”
The amount of forewarning of the storm helped.
“For as bad as it is out, it hasn’t been too bad,” Maj. Steve Rogers of the Howard County Sheriff Department said. “People are apparently being very careful and have heeded the warnings. Traffic seems to be at a minimum right now and we hope that continues.”
That’s because a late-afternoon forecast was calling for an additional 6 to 14 inches of snow between 3 p.m. and midnight, according to Smith. As of 4 p.m., Howard County was covered by an estimated 7 to 9 inches.
“The hard part is trying to find an area where we’re not getting into drifting” to get an accurate measurement, he said.
“I know it’s not nice, but I kept thinking throughout [Tuesday] how lucky we are not to be in that New York town with the 100 inches of snow,” Smith added.
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, nearly all 24 school corporations in Howard and its six surrounding counties had canceled classes for today.
“It’s just too dangerous,” said John Bevan, superintendent of Southeastern School Corp. in Cass County.
When classes resume largely depends on the weather and how long it takes to get roads cleaned.
“Right now, the assessment is that [Tipton County Highway Department] are standing by until the winds and snow let up,” said Lee Williford, superintendent of Northern Community Schools of Tipton County. “When they can get the roads clear and it’s safe for our buses, that’s when we will consider going back.”
Northern has 105 square miles in its district.
“That’s a lot of roads you have to be sure are open in order to have schools,” Williford said.
As bad as it was, however, Kokomo Rescue Mission reported fewer than normal numbers for lunch and dinner and the Howard-Tipton Chapter of The American Red Cross was prepared to open a shelter at the United Way building downtown but it wasn’t needed.
“We’ve had no calls yet,” director Larry Grant said. “We’re talking with EMA and we’re on an hour standby to open a shelter if it’s necessary.”
Kokomo Rescue Mission had received a couple of requests from people to spend the night, but still had a bed or two open.
“We haven’t seen very many people come through, even in the dining room,” said Dave Boss, the mission’s chief operations officer. “It didn’t look like that many people were trying to come in at lunch.”
That didn’t change at the evening meal, night chaplain Robert Jones said.
“People just weren’t getting out,” he said.
At Coordinated Assistance Ministries, approximately 20 people had come in during the day and some of them were spending the night, according to administrative assistant Lee Wagner.
“We were serving soup so people didn’t have to leave the shelter to go out to eat,” he said.
CAM planned to remain open around the clock for people needing help.
Smith, who has been on duty since 10 p.m. Monday, said EMA personnel were available to sheriff deputies to provide transportation in four-wheel drive vehicles and to help people who are on a dialysis regimen get to their treatments.
Brown noted that officers are patrolling city streets, however, people may not realize it easily.
“We have signed agreements with a couple of new car dealers to use their four-wheel drives,” he said. “We have officers out there but they’re not as readily recognized.”
KFD deputy chief Dave King reported that firefighters had also made fewer runs Tuesday.
“We’ve had a couple of smoke scares that turned out to be relatively minor or nothing at all,” he said. Ambulance crews had responded to a few calls about falls. “We’ve not been very busy today, which is good.
“The city crews are doing an excellent job,” King said. “We have not had any problems getting to any part of the city. There are also crews on standby if we need plows to go out in front of engines.”
County highway superintendent Ted Cain had snow equipment positioned around the county for emergency situations as well, Rogers said.
With the storm supposed to clear the area after midnight, Brown had high hopes for today.
“[This] morning will be a brand new day and hopefully we can get back to normal,” the officer said, “at least here in the city.”
John Dempsey may be contacted at (765) 854-6739 or by e-mail at john.dempsey@kokomotribune.com

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.