The ride in the cab of a Barton County Road and Bridge Department snow plow was far from luxurious. In fact, it was downright brutal as the truck bucked and moaned.
But, outside that cab Friday afternoon, the sun shined and the temperature hovered in the upper 40s. Imagine the ride at night during a blinding blizzard.
That is what departmental employees may face and that is why what they did Friday afternoon was a necessary evil.
They practiced their winter weather skills during the “snow rodeo” at the county lot on South Washington. There were 20-some personnel going through a series of drills simulating the nastiness of a snow storm.
“It gets you in the mind set for winter,” one driver said. “But, during a storm, it is a completely different ball game.”
Road and Bridge dispatcher John Remmert agreed. “It’s one thing when the sun is shining, but try doing this at 5 in the morning when its snowing using only your headlights.”
Nonetheless, the training is beneficial, Remmert said.
Using sand for snow, they ran plows, graders, loaders and trucks. They maneuvered through cones and rehearsed the basic tasks required to remove snow.
It was kind of like a delicate ballet with giant machinery, that is if giant machinery can be delicate.
“The snow rodeo is a half day of hands-on training in the equipment to be ran in a snow emergency,” Remmert said. “Employees are given real life problems to solve and complete such as winching stuck vehicles, operating snow plows and loaders.”
Equipment operated included all-terrain vehicles, motor graders, snow plows and loaders. The drivers were getting re-accustomed to the implements or getting a quick course on those they had never used.
The rodeo was the culmination of two days of winter preparation. Rewind back to day one which was Thursday.
The first part of snow training was a round-table discussion Thursday morning lead by Road and Bridge Director Dale Phillips and attended by Emergency Preparedness Director Amy Miller, Dave Smith of the Barton County Sheriff’s Office, Dena Popp and Liz Nolan from the Communications, Solid Waste Manager Phil Hathcock and others. Subjects covered included the preparation, planning and procedures for snow fighting.
“This is the first time we’ve done this,” Remmert said of the interdepartmental meeting. “We thought it was about time to get everyone involved and on the same page.”
Also, throughout the day Thursday, there were also assorted mandatory snow training exercises for Road and Bridge personnel. These included use of the sand/salt spreader, truck plow, loader, grader and skidsteer loader, as well as snow chain installation and snow survival.
The temperatures cooled this weekend, bring to mind the possibilities of the bad weather to come. Now, Remmert said safety personnel are at least thinking about what lies ahead. For video content click here.