BY ANDY TAYLOR
chronicle@taylornews.org
Montgomery County continues to deal with slick streets and slushy sidewalks today — one week after a major winter storm dumped as much as a half foot of snow in some areas of the county.
The Christmas Eve snow storm also came with massive winds — some clocked as much as 40 to 50 miles per hour — that left snow drifts as tall as cars in many areas of the county.
Speaking at Monday’s county commission meeting, Robert Bever, public works director, said county road crews started removing snow and slush last Thursday afternoon but were sent home at 7 p.m, as white-out conditions impaired visibility.
“I told the crews to go home until 3 a.m. the next morning,” said Bever. “The white-out conditions simply kept us from being on the road in a safe manner.”
Once crews returned to work at 3 a.m, Christmas morning, they continued the removal of snow and ice non-stop until Sunday.
Bever said that during the span of four days, county road crews spread more than 550 tons of a rock/sand mixture and put in between 700 and 800 hours of overtime.
“The guys have been faithful to their work and stayed right at it,” said Bever.
Several county trucks became stuck in snow banks with only one truck sustaining any damage, Bever said.
Bever said an area northwest of Elk City appeared to receive the most snow, as indicated by several roads were still impassable on Monday.
An area stretching from northwest of Elk City to Fredonia received more than six inches of snow, according to the Wichita office of the National Weather Service. Most other areas of the county received three to five inches of wintry precipitation.
The wind was so intense that it toppled the canopy covering the gas pumps at Cherry Hill Express at Olive and East Main streets in Cherryvale. The large canopy blew down Thursday night as the convenience store was assisting holiday shoppers. No vehicles were damaged, and no injuries were reported.
“We were extremely lucky that no one was injured,” said Ruby Mansfield, Cherry Hill Express manager. She added that the canopy was erected in 1983 and had withstood numerous other wind storms and heavy snows.
The snow and wind also is believed to have resulted in the death of an Independence man. The Independence Police Department said Joe Britt, age 72, of 500 S. 18th, apparently fell outside his home on Thursday. He was discovered shortly before 10 p.m., by a neighbor. He was pronounced dead at the scene, apparently of exposure, said Independence police chief Ken Parker.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine the actual cause of death, Parker said.
