By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As more than a foot of snow fell on Bowling Green last week, city employees kept the plows moving and the power on.
“This really was a significant storm,” Bowling Green Mayor Mike Aspacher told City Council on Tuesday evening.
Aspacher reported that he got a first-hand look at the job performed by public works employees charged with keeping the roadways clear during and after a snowstorm.
“I spent the last night riding in a snowplow,” Aspacher told members of City Council. “Let me tell you, that was an eye-opening experience.”
“I now have a much different perspective and an appreciation for the difficulty of this task.”
With winds gusting and visibility very limited on the outskirts of the city, the snowplow drivers worked 12-hour shifts to clear the streets, then returned later to clear them again.
“These people are skilled and dedicated” and often taken for granted, the mayor said.
Riding in the dark, with blowing snow, and narrow roads on the outer edge of the city was harrowing, he said. Also challenging was trying to navigate large snowplows around small cul-de-sacs, he added.
“We owe them a really big debt of gratitude for the work they do,” Aspacher said of the public works employees.
And while other communities faced power outages during the storm, Bowling Green kept the power on for all electric users.
“The system held up very well,” said Public Utilities Director Brian O’Connell.
One car accident did clip a guy wire, but no one lost power, O’Connell said.
City Council President Mark Hollenbaugh expressed his gratitude to city public works and public utilities employees who were out working when much of Bowling Green was bundled up at home.
The only service Hollenbaugh lost at his home was his internet – which was not the fault of the city, he said. And the only difficulty he had navigating with his car was on his driveway – again not the fault of the city, he added.
