Travel advisory in red; All schools closed again Friday

As snow continues to blow and fall across the area, Putnam County residents are being told more strongly this time: Stay off the roads.

The Putnam County Emergency Management Agency and Putnam County Commissioners made the decision to move to a Travel Warning, the “red” rating in the Indiana Department of Homeland Security county travel statuses.

The warning took effect at 4 p.m.

The highest level of local travel advisory, a warning means that travel may be restricted to emergency management workers only. During a warning local travel advisory, individuals are directed to:

(A) refrain from all travel;

(B) comply with necessary emergency measures;

(C) cooperate with public officials and disaster services forces in executing emergency operations plans; and

(D) obey and comply with the lawful directions of properly identified officers.

While some of the differences between a watch and a warning are subtle, it should be interpreted as an order to stay off the roads rather than a suggestion. Police are able to write tickets if deemed necessary when people are found traveling during a warning.

Indiana State Police Putnamville Public Information Officer Matt Ames posted the following video Thursday afternoon to show the conditions on Interstate 70:

With the snow continuing to pile up and blow, all primary and secondary schools in the county — Area 30, Cloverdale, Greencastle, North Putnam and South Putnam — have moved to eLearning for the third consecutive day.

Meanwhile, all Putnam County and City of Greencastle offices, except for emergency personnel, will be closed again Friday.

With the closure of the Putnam County Voter Registration Office, the filing deadline for the May primary election will be moved to noon on the next day the office is opened, likely Monday.

Additionally, the Monday meeting of the Putnam County Commissioners has been moved to Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 9 a.m.