County, cities cope with snow and ice, closures abound
With snow and ice blanketing the area, Dubois County Commissioners declared a state of emergency Sunday evening as well as a travel warning.
The declaration is active until Tuesday morning, when it will be reevaluated to determine whether it will be continued.
According to Emergency Management Director Tammy Humbert, the Indiana Code requires the declaration as part of the county’s response to the continued impacts of the adverse weather. It is the first step to declaring a travel advisory/warning–which was part of the declaration.
The warning states that “travel may be restricted to emergency workers only during a warning, refrain from travel, comply with emergency measures, cooperate with public officials and disaster service forces in executing emergency plans.”
Though no restrictions have been put in place, the county can take steps to do so now if necessary.
“Basically, we are just trying to keep as many people as possible off the roadways so that our street and highway departments can get those roads cleaned,” Humbert said. “Now at this point, we haven’t had to execute any of our emergency plans because most people are complying. Most people don’t want to drive in this so they’re staying home.”
She explained that the travel advisory does not require businesses to close down, though some have already taken the initiative.
“We are asking people to use their own discretion but to know that it is extremely hazardous out there right now, and the less people on the roadways the better chance we have to get it cleaned up,” Humbert said. “I feel like when we do something like that (declaration), a lot of businesses do make a decision to go ahead and stay closed.”
Conditions were so hazardous Sunday evening that the Dubois County Sheriff’s Office reported tow trucks were not responding to slide-offs.
Crews in the county and Huntingburg held off cleaning streets until after the sleet so roads wouldn’t end up with ice covering that would have been much harder to remove.
Humbert hopes the current snowfall will be finished by this afternoon, and the winter warning will expire as the system moves out of Southern Indiana.
The declaration also allows for assistance from state and federal organizations if necessary, or the assistance becomes available.
“If the governor were to declare a state of emergency for these areas, it would help with resources,” Humbert said, adding that she hasn’t heard whether that will happen.
For example, if there were major power outages in the county, they could have generators sent in, and shelters opened up with the state’s assistance.
Humbert further noted other counties in Southern Indiana have been hit harder than Dubois County, and she wouldn’t be surprised if the state does declare an emergency.
“We are not there in Dubois County but I know they are in Vanderburgh, Warrick and Posey counties,” Humbert said. “They have been hit really hard with the ice.”
In Dubois County, most ice has been relegated to the southern portion, with about a third of an inch coating areas in Ferdinand and Huntingburg.
Jasper’s streets were passable, and trash was collected Monday morning. According to Street Commissioner Jeff Theising, crews began working at 7 a.m. Sunday morning. They continued through the day until 11 p.m. when they stopped to give the employees and equipment a break before starting back up at around 3 a.m.
“You still have to drive with caution, we haven’t had a snowstorm like this in some time,” Theising said, adding he’s had a lot of compliments passed along by email and text messages on the status of Jasper’s streets.
Unfortunately, as noted by Humbert and Theising, even as the storm passes from the area, the snow and ice won’t likely go away.
“Everyone is going to need to be patient because I don’t see us going above freezing until Sunday, and that’s a long way away,” Theising said.
Here is a list of closures from WBDC.
