Sleet? Ice? Snow? Maybe. Panic? No

Avoid the rush: Close the schools now.

//

The National Weather Service says there is a chance for sleet or freezing rain in the next day or so. "Forecasters state that any sleet would be very short-term," says Columbia County Emergency Services Director Pam Tucker.

Experience says that soon as the first ice falls, officials will be flooded with calls from overreacting parents and hopeful children asking if schools will close.

The service has since warmed up the forecast, so there's little chance of icy streets. But they'll come; ice and snow aren't unheard of around here. And contrary to the sometimes-smug motorists from colder climes, native drivers can, indeed, drive on ice.

That goes for bus drivers, too. When ice does come, the county's school transportation department will pay close attention to road conditions, as will the county's top-notch road crews. If the schools need to be closed for safety, they'll be closed. Announcements to that effect will come early and often.

So give those phone attendants a break, would you?