State officials say they are more ready to face severe winter weather than they have been in past years.
But are the rest of us?
According to an Associated Press report, “an increased demand for salt, a shortage of staff and high diesel prices caused the state to do the bare minimum in cleaning icy and snowy roads last year.”
Things are better, if not a LOT better, the AP noted. “Kansas transportation officials say the state is better prepared to deal with harsh winter weather than it was a year ago, but road crews still could be stretched thin in some areas.”
It added, “This season, storage bins are full of salt and sand and the trucks have been prepared for duty.”
In Barton County, Road and Bridge Director Dale Phillips has been working his department to prepare and he’s been stocking up with salt and sand so his crews can treat county blacktops. Great Bend city crews have been preparing as well.
Now it’s up to the rest of us.
Now is the time to make sure that we have homes and cars ready, that we are set for that first serious blast of winter weather.
Kansas can surprise us.
We can slip back into fall like conditions. Many of us remember Christmas days when we were outside in shirt sleeves.
On the other hand, we could get blasted almost overnight. We can also remember years when it turned frigid at this time and didn’t thaw out until April.
And that is why, now is the time to make sure we’re ready.
— Chuck Smith