First snowfall hits the Valley

Staff report

Wednesday’s snow was just a tease. Are we ready for the real deal?

Half an inch of snow was expected to fall last night, and scattered snow showers are expected throughout the day, accumulating half an inch or less, said Tom Carlson, a forecaster with Weather Central.

“The snow this week will be fairly light,” he said. “Nothing real bad.”

As temperatures fell Wednesday, accident calls to area emergency dispatchers rose.

Trumbull County Emergency Dispatch handled some 80 calls between 5 and 7 p.m. Wednesday as wind, a light dusting of snow and low temperature combined to make some roads and ramps icy.

The dispatch center said the Route 82 bypass at Market Street closed temporarily because of icy conditions. Other areas that experienced icy conditions were on Routes 5, 82, 534 and 11. The center said reports noted more property damage to vehicles and guard rails than personal injuries.

Mahoning County 911 dispatch reported multiple fender-benders in the area. A dispatcher said reports indicated Routes 14 and 165 in Goshen and Route 170 in Poland Township had black ice. The dispatch said it had about 30 calls between 5 and 7 p.m.

Columbiana County Sheriff’s Department reported several minor accidents because of road conditions.

Mercer County 911 Center said it had a heavy call load between 7 and 8 p.m. with reports of minor accidents.

Lawrence County Emergency Operations said it had no weather-related incidents.

The National Weather Service expects temperatures to be above normal this winter. But there is an “equal chance of normal, above average or below average” for snow accumulation, the service predicts.

In any case, many local officials say they are ready.

“We’ve already got the trucks prepared, and the plows are ready to go. Everything’s been tested and works,” said Larry Wilson, Boardman road superintendent.

The township’s road department had about 2,000 tons of salt left over from last year and added 1,000 tons to prepare for the upcoming season. Wilson asked that residents remember to shovel snow to the side of their driveway, not to the street.

“Whatever you put out there [on the street], it will come back,” he said.

In Youngstown, the street department has about 4,000 tons of salt left from last year with no immediate plans to buy any more, said Joseph Mastropietro, the department’s superintendent.

“We have enough for a couple of decent snowstorms,” he said. “We’re well-stocked.”

Of the 16 trucks the city uses for snow removal and spreading salt and gravel, 12 of them are ready to hit the road, Mastropietro said.

The other four need “extensive repairs” and will be ready to join the rest by the end of next week, he said.

The city sprayed salt on overpasses Wednesday, he said.

Austintown Trustee David Ditzler said the township’s road department spent the past few months preparing for winter weather. “Fortunately we’ve gotten to December without snow,” he added.

Ditzler said the township has 10 trucks on the road when it snows. He said it recently purchased two new plow trucks and hopes to have them operational by the end of the year.

“These trucks have the ability to angle their plowing so we can do cul-de-sacs better,” he said. “They’re not quite road-ready.”

Boardman Police Department will do welfare checks on elderly residents when requested by family, friends and neighbors.

“We’ve never had a senior program, but what we’ve done in the past are wellness checks. If people have concerns about elderly residents during cold weather and snow, they should call the police department, and our officers will go to the home,” said Administrator Jason Loree.

Loree said police will check on every call and that if officers find residents with any problems, such as a lack of food or needed medical care, they will try to help as best they can.

Poland village and township police also perform welfare checks.

Elderly residents throughout Mahoning County also could have someone else do their winter chores for them, if needed.

Part of the federal money given to Area Agency on Aging 11 has been reallocated for chore services such as snow removal, said Lisa Solley, chief of community relations, wellness and training at the agency. The program will begin in January, but the agency already is taking names for people interested in the program, which is open to seniors 60 or older who live alone or have no means to clear the snow.

“We know there’s a lot of older adults,” Solley said. “They need help because they’re living alone or maybe their family moved away. Shoveling snow is just not something they need to be doing.”

She added that strenuous outdoor tasks are worse in cold weather because the cold causes blood vessels to constrict, increasing the risk of heart attack for people with heart disease or other conditions that strain the heart’s ability to pump blood.

For more information about services offered by the Area Agency on Aging, including snow removal, call 330-505-2300 or 1-800-686-7367. Information also is online at www.aaa11.org.

The Ohio Department of Transportation, meanwhile, watches for stranded motorists. If a plow encounters one, the driver will contact the county garage over the radio, and the officials then will notify local law enforcement, said Kristen Erickson, public-information specialist at ODOT District 4.

“If the snowplows stopped every time there was a stranded motorist, they would never get around to plowing the roads,” she said.

If there’s an accident and someone needs urgent care, the drivers will do whatever they can to help the situation until law enforcement arrives, Erickson added.

TRUMBULL COUNTY

Plow drivers at the Trumbull County engineer’s office and in Warren have taken steps to prepare and test their trucks so that they will be ready.

Drivers for the county have been out on a “dry run” on their routes to check for concrete driveways that have been added since last year and low-hanging branches that could interfere with the plows, said Marty Patrick, highway superintendent. If a concrete driveway extends to the road, it sometimes has to be changed so that it doesn’t damage the snowplow, Patrick said.

“It has blown the plow right off the truck,” Patrick said of such driveways.

He adds that the public sometimes believes plow drivers go too fast or drive too close their mailbox, but drivers typically plow a foot into a yard to avoid having ice buildup along the sides of the road that can cause road hazards for motorists.

Driving speeds of 17 to 25 miles per hour are needed to most effectively remove the snow that can cause such buildups, he said.

As for whether it is better for homeowners to anchor their mailbox in concrete or dirt, Patrick prefers dirt to prevent the mailbox from getting “snapped off.” The most plow-resisting mailboxes, however, are ones that are mounted on poles that swivel so that when the snow hits them, they sway and return to their original position.

The county engineer used about 16,000 tons of salt and small gravel last year, which was an average year. The department has about 16,000 tons on hand now.

Warren has a full inventory of salt-and-ash mixture available, and all of the city’s plows were tested Wednesday, Safety-Service Director Doug Franklin said.

Liberty Township’s services director, Rick Plummer, said the township did not buy new salt for this year as there are still 900 tons of it saved from last season. Otherwise, it’s business as usual as far as snow removal. Thirteen trucks will plow 13 routes each day as necessary.

Plummer’s advice to residents was to drive slow. “And don’t pass the plow,” he said. “We get a lot of that.”

Columbiana County

Steve Andres, Salem’s safety and service director, said the city has 500 tons of salt in its storage bin, which can store only about 50 tons more. The city normally uses about 1,200 tons a year. The department will have two fewer drivers this year, leaving the city with six plow drivers. Andres said that the city’s old trucks are in the best condition they can be.

“We’re ready for winter,” he said.

Columbiana County Engineer Bert Dawson said his department had 14 to 16 vehicles out doing ice assessments and treating slippery roads where needed.

The engineer’s office spent $173,705 for salt between January and March of 2010. The engineer’s office spent $105,113 in overtime for the same period.

Salem Police Chief Robert Floor said that if people call requesting a check on an elderly or disabled person, the department will send an officer.