County coped well with snow

Pam Tucker has the proof.

The six-page summaryshows that Columbia County effectively weathered its most recent snowfall, she said.

"Everything just went really according to plans," the county's emergency services directorsaid of the storm that dumped 4 1/2 inches of snow and ice on the county. "The teamwork was great."

Officials began preparing in early December for such a storm. But Tucker said it was the real thing - the biggest snowfall she could remember in the area since 1988 - that put the county to the test.

"Anytime like in the floods in the summer or in this situation or even with the anthrax situation that we had, we get a chance in real life to take a detailed look at our plans," she said.

Tucker began evaluating the county's response to the storm the week after the snowfall.

The operation cost the county $21,947 - $12,700 for personnel, $7,332 for equipment and $915 for supplies. A total of 8,500 pounds of salt was used on roads, bridges and overpasses.

A timeline included in the summary shows how the county's Emergency Management Agency stayed in constant contact with the National Weather Service in Columbia and made recommendations according to forecasts.

"Instead of responding to each report of ice individually, roads and bridges crews kept a constant loop around the county," she said.

Departments also worked together to supply emergency transportation for those with medical needs.

"We really received a lot of e-mail and cards through the mail from nursing homes and hospitals and even Congressman Norwood's office thanking us," Tucker said. "We had patients that hadn't had dialysis for a week that needed to go."

Tucker said she would have changed one thing.

"The only thing is we want to be more self-reliant on making notifications (of office closings)," she said.

With several weeks of winter remaining, Tucker said her department is confident in its preparedness.

"We've got several weeks to go, so we've already restocked our salt," she said. "And we've heard from almost all the (volunteer) drivers. If it happens, we'll be ready to do it again."