Area clears 8 inches of snow off streets, sidewalks, driveways

By Stehanie Brien
Journal Times

Friday, February 1, 2008 11:35 PM CST

SLIDESHOW

RACINE — Instead of sitting in history class learning about Roman citizenship, Haley Montee, 12, and her friends were outside enjoying the week’s second snow day.

"I would much rather be doing this," Montee said while holding on to her sled on top of a hill at Racine’s Lockwood Park, 4300 Graceland Blvd. "I don’t like sitting. I like moving around."

The National Weather Service station in Sullivan reported that the Racine area received anywhere from 8 to 12 inches. According to data from Batten International Airport, the snow started at 12:25 p.m. Thursday and continued until approximately 9:47 a.m. Friday.

The Racine Department of Public Works started sending snow plows out at 3 p.m Thursday and had only one shift break from midnight to 2 a.m, said Tom Eeg, assistant commissioner of public works. At its peak, around 2 a.m., the department had 32 plows and salt trucks on the streets.

After the snow stopped mid-morning, the temperature hit a high of 30 degrees just before 3 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

"It’s a perfect sledding day," said Sharia Bryson, 26, who works at an after school program and had the day off along with her kids.

The Racine Unified School District was also closed Wednesday for sub-zero temperatures, but it was too cold to go outside that day, Bryson said. Bryson wasn’t the only adult enjoying Lockwood Park with the kids.

"I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid," said Ryan Hanks, 37, of Racine. "So I do it for my kids."

Hanks spent most of the day pushing his daughter and friends down the hill and watching them struggle to climb back up.

"The fun part is going down and the hard part is going up," said Hanks, who jumped on his own sled a couple of times. Later Friday after he warmed up from sledding, it was back to work at Case-New Holland, where he works third shift as a machinist. Just as Hanks had to go to work late Friday, others had to work all day despite the snow.

Ronald Donaldson, 60, started shoveling Friday at midnight and shoveled till 3 a.m. to try to lessen the workload for the next day. But when he woke up again at 7 a.m. Friday, his work was covered. As a handyman for three Racine apartment complexes, he has had a long day of shoveling.

As cars drove by and sprayed snow on his back, Donaldson didn’t mind, though.

"I don’t care. I’m nice and warm," Donaldson said while wearing his two layers of long johns, gloves, boots and hat.

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