life after the snowpocalypse

[mickeym]

There are, according to Wave 3 News, 375 closings/delays/cancellations for the central Kentucky (and some southern Indiana) area. Daycare centers, schools, government offices, doctors' offices, production plants, you name it, it's probably on the list.

We have between 6 and 7" of snow on the ground down here in Elizabethtown; from what I hear from my friend up in Louisville, they have anywhere between 8 and 14", depending on the area of town, wind and drift. Oh, and there's a layer of ice in there somewhere, too, because it rained/sleeted for a couple of hours yesterday, in between snowstorms. It's also cold as fuck outside; the temp is something like 16, with a windchill of -1F.

I hate winter. Ugh.

I know there are a lot of y'all getting pummeled badly, with snow measuring in the feet rather than inches, and I really feel for you. But we are not equipped to handle true winter weather down here, and GOD, I wish this would go far, far away. School was called off yesterday, and today; I told Matthew I won't be a bit surprised if it's called off for Thursday, as well. Because the thing about being county schools is: the buses have to be able to safely reach all the students, and that means the ones who live out on the back roads, in the more rural parts of the county. The places where the snowplows and salt/sand trucks don't go.

On the up side, I don't work in Louisville any more, so I don't have to either 1) call in to work and thus use up vacation hours on snow days or 2) risk life and limb and auto, making the trip. I also have power, and working internet/television, plenty of food, soda, bottled water, and DVDs in the house. My child has a friend who lives one street over (who spent most of the day here yesterday) so he has some company and therefore isn't bugging ME relentlessly. I'm still not happy about the enforced time-in-the-house, but I know it could be a hell of a lot worse.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for y'all on the east coast, because it looks like it's gonna hit hard.

Also, earthquake up in Illinois, huh? Nothing like the earth shaking to start your day, yeah?

Comments

[raynedanser.livejournal.com]

The places where the snowplows and salt/sand trucks don't go.

oooooo????

Up here, they have to go EVERYWHERE that is a public road way - it's a matter of safety. Not just for the drivers, but for emergency services that *might* have to go down.

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Nope, not down here. Or, they might go over once with the plow -- but there were many winters when we were at the other house, which is further out in the county (we're right on the city limits where we live now), we'd be lucky if the plows came through at all, and I don't think we ever had a salt truck go through.

Nice, huh?

[raynedanser.livejournal.com]

Holy shit. I mean, I GET that you guys aren't equiped for it on a regular basis like we are. I get that. But that? Is just irresponsible and completely open to a lawsuit if someone were, say, killed (and also justified).

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Yup. And that is why I seldom venture outside when the weather's bad. Because I don't want to take the chance, since I have no way of knowing if salt/sand trucks have been through (unplowed roads are fairly easy to spot *g*).

There have been fatalities as a result of the weather/roads (as there's almost always going to be, regardless of road treatment), but I have no idea if anyone ever brought up "well, you should've salted the roads" issue or not.

[raynedanser.livejournal.com]

That's just ridiculous. Truly.

Several years ago (I was still working), a woman was killed in an accident just past our old place. The town had done a BAD job of the roads that year and there was an off duty county police officer behind her when it happens who even said to the reporting officers that the roads hadn't been taken care of properly. The town shaped up for a few years, but they're slacking off again - though a lot of it now is the trucks are unable to keep up since usually we don't get a little, we get a LOT.

[surevesta.livejournal.com]

Wow, so lucky. I think I've only had like 10 snow days in my life... I mean I remember driving on ice an inch layer of ice to get to class in High School. My college, for all that this is the first year we haven't had a foot+ of snow, has only had one snow day in five years and that was only called because UI, eight miles away, called a snow day and there are lots of faculty and students who take/teach at both.

Wow an earthquake in Illinois? Hopefully it won't lead to one like the huge one that hit that hit Missouri/Ohio/etc in 1811 (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1811-1812.php). That one led to church bells going off states away. Now I have to go google what happened in Illinois.

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Ten...in your life? Seriously? Including today, the kids have missed six days for January and February, because of weather. In six weeks! And last year, they were off school for...god, easily a week plus a couple of days, just in January, because of the ice storm we had.

Yeah, I guess it was like, 4.3 on the scale. I'm kind of surprised we didn't feel it down here in KY -- they felt it up there when we had one a couple years ago. But glad, too, because the earth shaking on top of snow would've been just too weird :)

[surevesta.livejournal.com]

Well, we did have a flood day one year! If we had a snow day then we had to go to school on the day Walla Walla had their Balloon festival--if they could avoid doing that then the school district would. They kept most of the roads pretty clear... we were more apt to have hour or two hour delays then full on closures- even with 6+inches of snow or a layer of ice overnight.

[visionshadows.livejournal.com]

Totally off topic, but this showed up in my NPR thread: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123527833&sc=fb&cc=fp

It's about how Asperger's has now been placed in the Autism disorder spectrum officially. Not sure if this will help you get anymore assistance for Matthew or not but I wanted to let you know.

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That is interesting -- I don't know if it'll make any difference (they've been calling it part of the spectrum for a while now, unofficially, anyway), but I'm definitely going to look into it. :)