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Weather keeps snowplows busy
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Snowplow driver Carl Dohar of Arrow Asphalt takes a break with a cup of coffee while plowing
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Carl Dohar plows a parking lot in Liberty
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Snowplow driver Carl Dohar of Arrow Asphalt checks his plow while working in Liberty.
By KATIE SEMINARA
Plowers brave the crazy wintry mixes to make life easier for others.
Carl Dohar of Youngstown can’t recall the last time he shoveled snow.
But he was out removing the icy, wet mixture with his plow starting at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.
“It’s a pain; we get called at 2 in the morning,” said Dohar, who plows for Arrow Asphalt.
“But this is how we make our money in the winter,” he said.
Arrow Asphalt on State Street in Girard is a paving company that doubles as a plowing company in the winter.
Many trucks cautiously navigated the covered roads to make it to plowing jobs at parking lots and driveways while the Valley was pounded with several inches of a wintry mix.
“It just doesn’t know what it wants to do today,” said Dohar of the ever-changing precipitation Wednesday.
The consistency of the snow was heavy, wet and harder to plow than the snow the area got about two weeks ago, he said.
Like other vehicles, plow trucks aren’t immune to the conditions. Sliding is still an issue, windows collect ice, and maneuverability skills are a must. During the course of a day, dodging wide turns by tractor-trailer trucks, avoiding curbs and defogging windows could all be part of the job, Dohar said.
“It’s bad weather, and things happen,” he said.
“You learn to do a lot of things from this seat when you spend so much time in it,” said Dohar after slapping ice off his driver’s-side windshield wiper.
Dohar had about 10 to 15 parking lots to plow; then he would plow his family’s and friends’ driveways as a favor.
Most jobs take about 20 to 30 minutes, but larger lots can take up to four hours. Dohar was hoping to be wrapped up by 4 p.m., but the snow was still coming down, and he said some jobs would get done twice.
To manage those 10-hour-plus days, coffee is essential, and six to seven cups is about average, he said.
Dohar was offered another cup while plowing the Youngstown Crab Company parking lot.
With one hand on the steering wheel and one on the plow controls, Dohar had no hands free to answer his cell phone ringing in the center console, next to his coffee.
“That’s another one that wants plowed,” he said. “There’s a lot of money, but it’s a lot of work, too.”
The going rate for parking lots is about $75 to $80, and driveways go for about $20.
“That’s pretty much the standard,” said Dohar. “People don’t do [driveways] for less than that.”
This winter has been decent for bringing in revenue, especially the snow from about two weeks ago. People can pay off their equipment during times like that, said Dohar.
Fred Schulte of Fred’s Affordable Snowplowing said the month of January has been good for plowers, but he still isn’t even with how much he made last year.
Schulte, of Hubbard, plows in Hubbard, Liberty and Girard.
“It’s highly competitive,” he said. This winter the business has become more competitive, because some people who lost jobs are plowing to earn money.
Despite the competitiveness, there is a sense of camaraderie, Schulte said.
When he was out Wednesday, Schulte got stuck in a ditch on Youngstown-Hubbard Road.
“Two plowers backed up to help pull me out,” he said, adding that he didn’t know them.
“We just go out and do the best job we can do,” Schulte said.