City digs out from week's winter storm
By JENNIFER WILSON
News editor
The weather outside was frightful.
After days of unusually warm weather, winter rolled into Kansas with a vengeance last Tuesday, bringing with it the ice and snow that caused schools to close their doors and residents to stay at home.
The freezing rain began falling Tuesday evening, and by Wednesday morning, a layer of ice coated most of the county. Sleet continued to fall all day Wednesday and into the evening before it eventually changed into snow Thursday morning.
The storm was especially devastating in southern Kansas and the Kansas City area, where heavy ice snapped power lines and trees. Thousands of homes are still without power, and residents now are left to clean up the debris of limbs and branches that fell into yards, driveways, and streets.
But Hillsboro fared well during the storm, according to local officials.
Motorists were especially lucky on the icy roads. So far, the Hillsboro Police Department hasn't investigated any accidents caused by the ice or snow, said Officer Chad Funk.
The police department has been called out to a couple of accidents, but those weren't related to weather conditions, Funk said.
City crews were hard at work from the very beginning of the storm. They began clearing city streets at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Steve Garrett, city administrator.
"I think the guys did a good job," Garrett said.
A crew of eight worked nonstop to clear area streets, and they're still working on getting rid of the large piles of snow that might take some time to melt.
The constant freezing rain on Wednesday, which led to a buildup of stubborn ice, gave the workers some difficulty, Garrett said. If the storm had just been snow, things would have been easier.
"It sure could have been a lot worse," he said.
At Hillsboro Community Medical Center, only one person was treated for a weather-related injury, said Marsha Myer, spokeswoman for HCMC. There were no weather-related deaths.
One organization benefiting from the storm was Hillsboro True Value Hardware. When the nasty weather rolled in, Hillsboro residents flocked to the hardware store to purchase shovels, ice melt, and ice scrapers, said Tom Koslowsky, co-owner of the store.
"We did very well," he said.
Most of the ice melt for sidewalks has been sold except for the extremely large containers, Koslowsky said. He's ordered more than one ton of the de-icer to restock his supply.
