Menu
No 'major incidents' in Rocky's wake
Local public safety personnel kept busy during and after a major snowstorm blew through Bourbon County on Monday and Tuesday but had reported no major incidents as of Tuesday afternoon.
Fort Scott Fire Chief Paul Ballou said the department worked about a dozen calls since the snowstorm hit Monday afternoon, mostly involving downed trees and power lines, and vehicles that had slid off into ditches, but there were "no injuries or major incidents."
Ballou said some brief power outages occurred Tuesday morning in various parts of town.
"Yesterday we had about seven calls about the time the storm started rolling in," he said. "They were mostly weather-related incidents. Some were power related."
Ballou said a power outage occurred about 5 a.m. Tuesday, mainly on the east side of town, and another outage took place Tuesday just west of the city. The outages lasted a couple of hours before power was restored in those areas later Tuesday morning.
"We even had a dead tree down that took down some cable lines," he said.
Fort Scott Police Department Interim Police Chief Travis Shelton said police officers had worked five non-injury vehicle accidents within the city between 1 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday, and several motorist assists that included such situations as vehicles stuck in the snow.
Shelton said officers had little trouble navigating in the wet, snowy conditions to respond to calls due to the four-wheel drive vehicles the department has on hand.
Shelton offered a bit of advice concerning accidents in inclement weather. He said incidents in which no injuries or fatalities occur, and damage is less than $1,000, are not required to be reported to the police department.
Ballou said last week's snowstorm was easier to prepare for since officials really didn't know how much snow this new storm was going to bring to the area, and when it did hit, it came earlier than predicted.
"We could tell more last week what was going to come than this week," he said. "Last week, the National Weather Service was able to get more of a handle on what that one was going to do."
Ballou said fire personnel had "a little bit of an issue" moving trucks in the snow, but the city's public works crews "worked straight through and got the bulk of the main roads first" that the department uses most when responding to incidents.
Ballou also commented on the size of the snowflakes that fell Monday, covering much of the area in a white blanket.
"Those were the biggest flakes I've ever seen," he said.
Shelton and Fort Scott Director of Public Works Eric Bailey said residents complied with a request Monday from the city to move cars parked on the street as whiteout conditions make it more difficult for snowplow drivers to see those vehicles.
Bailey said less vehicles parked on streets made it easier for plows and trucks to do their jobs.
"A lot of people moved their vehicles," Bailey said. "We really appreciate everyone doing that ... it's one less object not to have to watch out for."
Shelton said police officers did not ticket vehicles as long as they were legally parked, but it was recommended that people park cars in driveways or other areas, if possible, to help the city crews.
Bailey said crews first moved accumulated snow into huge mounds either in the middle or on the sides of roads "so people have a place to park downtown." Trucks later remove the snow and haul it to a dump site "to melt and run off," he said.
City crews began working 12-hour shifts clearing roads starting Monday when the storm arrived with four snowplows running at night and four operating during the daytime, Bailey said.
"Things went real smooth," he said.
Bailey said the goal was to address every street in town by 8 or 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Bourbon County Undersheriff Bill Martin said a few vehicle accidents occured out in the county Monday, and those were "mainly slide-offs" with no injuries reported.
"They were mostly yesterday; we've had no calls today," he said.