Henderson officials: Snow problems could have been worse

By Jeremy Twitchell

Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008 | 1:52 p.m.

The heavy winter storm that struck Henderson Wednesday snarled traffic, forced road closures and left some drivers no choice but to leave their cars abandoned on the roadside in some of the more heavily hit areas.

But Henderson Public Works employees were breathing a sigh of relief the next day, saying it could have been much worse.

Assistant Public Works Director Robert Herr said that had temperatures remained below freezing this morning, the problems could have become much worse.

As it turned out, the sun broke through and, by the time morning commutes started, the melt was on. And in a city with no snow plows, the help from nature was most welcome. The Henderson Police Department reported 16 storm-related accidents, all of them minor, spokesman Keith Paul said.

"Obviously, it was a little bit challenging because we're not set up with the traditional snow removal equipment," Herr said.

Not that the city is apologizing for that fact. In the midst of a budget crisis, the revelation that Henderson maintains heavy plowing equipment that gets dusted off once every 30 years or so probably wouldn't go over very well, even with five inches of snow on the ground.

"We've heard a lot of comments from people basically saying, 'We'd be more worried if you did have a snow plow,'" Herr said.

To deal with the snow, Herr said, Public Works dispatched dump trucks full of sand to spread over some of the slipperiest areas in the city. He said the city had also notified some of its contractors that it might need their help, but that the situation never got that far.

Herr said that some of the hardest-hit roads in town were essentially at an impasse Wednesday night, requiring some Public Works trucks to get police escorts and drive up the wrong side of the road to get to their destination.

The city's streets crew was supposed to end its day at 4 p.m., Herr said, but only half the crew was sent home at that point, while the other half stayed on and worked late into the night. The half that went home came back on around midnight and worked through the night, he said.

Fortunately, Herr said, the street crew's manager is from Chicago and knew how to handle the snowstorm.

"I really give kudos to our streets crew because they went above and beyond to get people home safely," Herr said.

Damage from the storm was minimal, Herr said. He wasn't aware of any damage to road or power lines, and the only problem he knew of were six downed trees around the city that Public Works crews had to help homeowners remove.

Jeremy Twitchell can be reached at 990-8928 or [email protected].