Street official urges patience after snow storm

Friday, February 16, 2007

Greencastle Street Commissioner Paul Wilson is asking for patience on the part of city residents in the wake of this week's major winter storm that dumped nearly a foot of snow -- topped off with ice and sleet -- on the area.

He told the BannerGraphic in an e-mail Thursday that the snow storm caused a number of equipment problems for the street department.

The department's two-ton GMC truck had rear-end problems as the driver was plowing Toddson Drive, Wilson said. It will not be available for the rest of the snow season.

Additionally, Wilson's four-wheel drive, heavy duty pickup has developed a starter problem and the plow that Wilson was using was broken during the storm.

"Transmission problems, de-icer spreader problems, windshield motors smelling hot, and other items caused us some down time, but we have dedicated workers that were on a mission," Wilson said. "The city looks really good and we met the challenge."

Wilson went on to state that he has received requests from the public to push back the snow that remains on the streets, however, the snow is deep and has become frozen with the subzero temperatures since the storm.

"We tried to do this, but the plow is greatly challenged and we do not want to jeopardize any more plows going down with another storm approaching," Wilson said.

Thursday night, workers from Joe Spiker Excavating assisted the street department by removing massive mounds of snow that was piled around the Putnam County Courthouse.

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