With temperatures in the 70s Friday afternoon, it was tough to think about winter and, worse yet, snow.

But, that was all that was on the minds of an army of 20-some Barton County employees taking part in the annual Snow Rodeo at the county lot on South Washington Street. This is an exercise during which the staff members hop into their equipment and practice to hone their skills for when bad weather eventually comes.

“Snow preparedness training now helps prevent the unthinkable later,” said Road and Bridge Director Dale Phillips of the simulations. “All staff realizes what the equipment is capable of and how to operate it safely in snow and ice conditions.”

Using sand and dirt for snow, they ran plows, graders, loaders and trucks. They maneuvered through cones and rehearsed the basic tasks required to remove snow.

“Staff learns how to deal with those on the highways and not yield to the conditions of the road,” Phillips said.

The rodeo was the culmination of two days of winter preparation. The first part of snow training was a round-table discussion Thursday morning lead by Phillips and attended by Emergency Preparedness Director Amy Miller, 911 Director Dena Popp, Solid Waste Manager Phil Hathcock and others. Subjects covered included the planning and procedures for winter warfare.

 Barton County is ready to deploy 14 snow plows (12 outfitted with sand/salt spreaders) and five motor graders into service to move snow, and there will be 25 Road and Bridge Department employees responding to operate skid steers, all-terrain vehicles and front end loaders. Employees from the Noxious Weed Department and the Barton County Landfill will also help manning equipment.

Phillips said it is really a team effort.