Closed again

The snow stopped falling late Saturday evening.
It was the wind that caused the problems.
Jay School Corporation closed today for the 10th time this school year after Sunday night’s wind left some roads impassable this morning because of drifting snow.
South Adams Schools were on a two-hour delay today. Fort Recovery Schools are closed because of Martin Luther King Day.
“Last night we got into major blowing and drifting,” said Tim Long, superintendent of Jay Schools. “We had 35-to-40 mile an hour winds last night. The main roads are actually in pretty good shape, but it’s sporadic. … It’s kind of hit and miss today. We’ve just got areas that we can’t get through.”
The snow also forced the cancellation of Jay County’s boys basketball game scheduled for Saturday against Alexandria. Tonight’s school board meeting is on as scheduled.
Jay County got about 2.5 inches of snow Saturday afternoon and evening on top of the 2.5 of inches that fell Thursday. Winds were at their worst around midnight Sunday, leaving Jay County Highway Department workers again trying to clear problem spots.
Dan Watson, Jay County’s engineer and the mayor of Dunkirk, said the department had roads cleared Sunday, but as of this morning many were drifted closed again or down to one lane. One of the main problem areas was county road 400 South.
“There’s a lot of places where you can drive and it’s bare and then you’ll have an area where it’s drifted,” said Watson. “The drifts that we have are pretty good sized.
“It’s kind of hit and miss, but the east-west roads are probably the worst.”
The 10 days missed, which included the entire week of Jan. 6 through 10 after 14 inches of snow fell the previous weekend, marks the third time in the last five years that Jay Schools have been out for at least two weeks.
Schools were closed for 11 days in 2009-10 and 12 in 2010-11.
As of today, the final day of the Jay Schools calendar would be June 2.
Long noted his concern about further missed days, with about an inch of snow expected tonight and more possible Tuesday and Wednesday.
“What’s interesting is usually the majority of days we miss have been late January and early February, so we’re concerned about it,” he said. “But there’s nothing you can do. You’re at the mercy of the weather. We’re praying for an early spring.
“We just take each day at a time and make the best decision that we can make. The real key is safety. That’s job one.
“We’ll see what tonight brings.”[[In-content Ad]]