July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
State of emergency
County's snow ordinance has just two levels
When a snow emergency is declared in Jay County, there's little grey area about how to handle it.
"Jay County has two levels, only two," said Ralph Frazee, Jay County Emergency Management Agency director. "We have a level one, which is roadways are snow/ice covered with severe drifting. Some county roads are drifted shut. Most should travel at their own risk.
"Level two says that streets are impassable and extremely hazardous and no one should travel unless it's absolutely necessary," Frazee explained.
Frazee said that drivers may be cited or towed at their expense if vehicles become stuck in the roadway impeding plows or if they abandon their vehicle after getting stuck.
There are exceptions to the travel restrictions, including those traveling directly to or from work, along with medical personnel, police, firefighters, emergency management staff, utility workers and livestock producers.
The decision to declare a snow emergency is based on input from several sources - including Frazee, the Jay County Commissioners, the sheriff's department and the county highway department.
"County highway obviously has a good pulse on how the road conditions are," Frazee said. "The sheriff's department is another real good one. Their officers are out there on the roads 24 hours and when they say, 'Hey it's starting to get tough out here' ... it's time to get all four of us together."
"The biggest problem we have is we just don't have enough vehicles as far as SUVs," said Sheriff Ray Newton, stating his department isn't staffed or equipped to handle major winter storms. "We've got two (SUVs). ... We really only have one full time guy who has an SUV."
The road conditions are also hazardous for officers, and attempting to help people out of snowdrifts is time consuming and sometimes dangerous. Newton said during the storm over the weekend, the exhaust system on the department's Jeep was damaged while trying to assist a stranded motorist.
From the highway department's perspective, when plow drivers report that roads are drifting shut soon after plows go through, that "real good sign that there's no use to fight," Frazee said. During those times, as was the case this past weekend, the department may pull its drivers and wait until the storm dies down to attempt to clear the roads again.
Road conditions in the county can turn sour quickly due to the flat topography of the county and the way wind rips over open spaces. Frazee said that a 2-inch snow can quickly become a 10-inch snow in places due to severe drifting.
Snow emergencies are a reactionary process, since the unpredictable weather may draw a forecast of several inches and very little actual falls on the area. Some areas of the county may also be more accessible due to plow attention or drift patterns, but Frazee said when snow emergencies are declared it's in the "the best interest of all the public."
Frazee said that weather advisories and warnings, over time, may be taken with a "boy-who-cried-wolf" mentality by some people, but that each should be taken seriously and that people should use some common sense if they decide to venture out during a storm.
"People get tired of hearing worst case scenarios," he said. "But that's what I have to deal with."
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"Jay County has two levels, only two," said Ralph Frazee, Jay County Emergency Management Agency director. "We have a level one, which is roadways are snow/ice covered with severe drifting. Some county roads are drifted shut. Most should travel at their own risk.
"Level two says that streets are impassable and extremely hazardous and no one should travel unless it's absolutely necessary," Frazee explained.
Frazee said that drivers may be cited or towed at their expense if vehicles become stuck in the roadway impeding plows or if they abandon their vehicle after getting stuck.
There are exceptions to the travel restrictions, including those traveling directly to or from work, along with medical personnel, police, firefighters, emergency management staff, utility workers and livestock producers.
The decision to declare a snow emergency is based on input from several sources - including Frazee, the Jay County Commissioners, the sheriff's department and the county highway department.
"County highway obviously has a good pulse on how the road conditions are," Frazee said. "The sheriff's department is another real good one. Their officers are out there on the roads 24 hours and when they say, 'Hey it's starting to get tough out here' ... it's time to get all four of us together."
"The biggest problem we have is we just don't have enough vehicles as far as SUVs," said Sheriff Ray Newton, stating his department isn't staffed or equipped to handle major winter storms. "We've got two (SUVs). ... We really only have one full time guy who has an SUV."
The road conditions are also hazardous for officers, and attempting to help people out of snowdrifts is time consuming and sometimes dangerous. Newton said during the storm over the weekend, the exhaust system on the department's Jeep was damaged while trying to assist a stranded motorist.
From the highway department's perspective, when plow drivers report that roads are drifting shut soon after plows go through, that "real good sign that there's no use to fight," Frazee said. During those times, as was the case this past weekend, the department may pull its drivers and wait until the storm dies down to attempt to clear the roads again.
Road conditions in the county can turn sour quickly due to the flat topography of the county and the way wind rips over open spaces. Frazee said that a 2-inch snow can quickly become a 10-inch snow in places due to severe drifting.
Snow emergencies are a reactionary process, since the unpredictable weather may draw a forecast of several inches and very little actual falls on the area. Some areas of the county may also be more accessible due to plow attention or drift patterns, but Frazee said when snow emergencies are declared it's in the "the best interest of all the public."
Frazee said that weather advisories and warnings, over time, may be taken with a "boy-who-cried-wolf" mentality by some people, but that each should be taken seriously and that people should use some common sense if they decide to venture out during a storm.
"People get tired of hearing worst case scenarios," he said. "But that's what I have to deal with."
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