Mother Nature decided on February 3rd this year, that we had not received enough snowfall and sent in another big snowstorm, and this time we got more than we bargained for…if there is such a thing as bargaining with Mother Nature. Overnight and into the day we received about 15 to 18 inches of snow, and we did have more ice in the form of sleet, underneath, which is why I say 15 to 18 inches. I measured 3 inches of packed sleet in front of my house on the sidewalk, and then after the snow finally tapered off the next day, I measured 14 inches of snow on top of the ice. It took our street crews alot longer to remove the snow and the ice this time around, they truly had their work cut out for them…but they did a great job doing so…have to say, and have said for years, we have an EXCELLENT Street Department in Sullivan, and my good friend Larry Cunieio, who was the Street Superintendent here for many years, retired a couple of years ago and left the department in the capable hands of yet another good friend of mine, Billy Parker, who while much younger, has a good head on his shoulders and is a very likeable young man, very capable of handling what comes his way as well. They worked all night and all day the next day to clean off the emergency street routes first…I am on one of those routes and since I rise early in the morning now, I see them go by all the time. I photographed them up on Main Street later in the morning when I was driving around in the snow…yes I still do that…..:)
For the most part during this storm, the traffic was very limited on 44, but there were a few truck drivers that continued to highball down the highway and then wondered what happened when they had a pileup later that evening just east of Sullivan…see the next story for that one…