MONROE - It's the most unusual snow storm in the memory of some Monroe residents. But they were taking it all in stride, and sometimes with humor.
"I just got back in ... from a blizzard," Paul Klinzing, supervisor of Monroe Parks and Recreation, said at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Klinzing and "three guys" with the Parks Department had been out clearing parking lots, parks, the senior center and 12 sidewalk areas. They cleared the snow once Wednesday morning and again in the afternoon. At 2:30 p.m. they stopped.
"This is unbelievable, just unbelievable. I've never seen anything like this," said Klinzing, who has lived here 28 years. "It just keeps coming."
Klinzing said the department was trying to keep the snow cleared from the public areas in hopes that it would help reduce the workload the next day.
"We figured, if we didn't, we'd never find them tomorrow," Klinzing said. "But it seems they are blowing back in."
The department uses tractors with snow blowers, with covered cabs, "so it's not like we're out in the elements," Klinzing said.
• • •
Jim Smith, in the marketing department at Monroe Truck Equipment, laughed when asked how business was going around noon Wednesday. Several of employees didn't make it into work.
"Good, good. We're doing what we can," he said. "Snow plow customers are coming in for repairs."
Smith said the company sent home employees who live outside the city limits.
Those who remained "are just anxious to know how their trip home is going to be," he said.
Monroe Truck Equipment canceled its second (3-11 p.m.) shift, which effected about 75 employees.
Smith said the shutdown is not expected to make a large economic impact on the company.
"It'll just delay items, but we'll be up to full strength tomorrow or Friday," he said.
• • •
Craig Krueger, service manager at Dearth Motors, was calling service customers around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning to cancel appointments. But he had to call only five of the 15 customers. He said six customers called to canceled their own appointments - and four came in.
One Monroe man came in for an oil change, because he was preparing for a trip to Florida soon. One lady came in for new tires.
A third customer drove from New Glarus.
"It's because we give such good service," Krueger laughed.
Only two of Krueger's service technicians were able to get into work at 7:30 a.m.; they live in Monroe. Four who live outside the city called to say they weren't going to make it.
Krueger was already back at his home in Albany by 1 p.m.; and he had the added benefit of taking a Jeep from the sales lot.
"It worked great," he said, but the usual 15-minute drive took 40 minutes.
County snow plows had been pulled off the roads by 11:30 a.m.
"I didn't see much of a trace of them," Krueger said.
• • •
Kelly Finkenbinder, Monroe's director of Public Works, was having all his calls forwarded to his work cell phone Wednesday. Even though the city closed its offices, Finkenbinder said "typically" departments like Public Works are not closed.
"Public Works has work to do in this kind of weather," he said.
"The airport is closed, and the Senior Center. But the Street Department tries to keep some paths open for emergency vehicles," he said.
Except for clearing emergency paths and roads to well houses for the water department, snow plows were pulled off the streets.
Finkenbinder said in conditions like those Wednesday, not only can snow plow drivers not see other vehicles, but other drivers can't see the plows.
Pulling snow plow drivers off the road gives drivers a chance to re-energize themselves.
"In situations like this, these guys get exhausted," Finkenbinder said.
An hour after plows were pulled off the roads, around 10:30 or 11 a.m., Finkenbinder said, the roads were blown back in again.
• • •
Hans Clark, pressman at Mr. Ink in Highlander Mall, said he had two customers Wednesday.
Clark drove in from Freeport at 10 a.m. Wednesday because he had a rush job to do. The drive took him two hours.
But Clark got stuck about three miles south of town on a hill.
"I love the Sheriff's Department," he said. "The Green County Sheriff's Department came along and pushed me out."
Clark said the parking lot is "impassible," and figured he might "stick around" Wednesday night, instead of trying to drive back home.
"We're snowed in," he said. "I went out and tried to back my car out, and got stuck. So I just left it."
Alderman Jan Lefevre was stuck at work at Mr. Ink. She drives a van, but didn't think she wanted to drive in the weather conditions. She arrived at 8:30 a.m.
"I don't ever remember it being this bad," said Lefevre, who has lived in Monroe 17 years. "Normally, I would have said, 'let's just shut it down.' But we had a rush job to do yet."
At 2:30 p.m., she was brainstorming where she'd be able to spend the night.
"My dad lives three blocks from here," she said. "He has a spare room."
Lefevre said the roadway between Mr. Ink and The Red Apple Restaurant was snowed shut. But still she walked over to the restaurant for lunch at 1 p.m. Ten people were eating there, she said.
• • •
President and CEO of Monroe Clinic, Mike Sanders, Monroe, and Monroe Clinic's Director of Marketing/Community Relations, Liz Carroll, Oregon, were both snowed in at, and working from, their respective homes in the country Wednesday.
Carroll said the hospital was not seeing any unusual patient volumes Wednesday. All physician appointments at the clinic were canceled at 1 p.m., but the hospital stayed at full staff and remained open.
Sanders said the hospital emergency room "got quieter as the snow got worse and worse," which was a good thing.
The hospital implemented its Incident Command System (ICS), a management system to organize emergency response, around 9 a.m. Wednesday. Sanders expected the system would remain in effect until Thursday morning.
The system takes into consideration both patient and staff welfare.
"You send your staff home from departments that can spare them," Sanders said. "But others in the hospital with in-patients are working extra, because some can't get in at all."
Sanders said the ICS initiated the search for places to sleep in town for staff who live outside the city. But he said cots were also "being set up in conference rooms, just in case."
Carrol said the ICS also helps with getting patents who are being discharged home.
"I just got back in ... from a blizzard," Paul Klinzing, supervisor of Monroe Parks and Recreation, said at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Klinzing and "three guys" with the Parks Department had been out clearing parking lots, parks, the senior center and 12 sidewalk areas. They cleared the snow once Wednesday morning and again in the afternoon. At 2:30 p.m. they stopped.
"This is unbelievable, just unbelievable. I've never seen anything like this," said Klinzing, who has lived here 28 years. "It just keeps coming."
Klinzing said the department was trying to keep the snow cleared from the public areas in hopes that it would help reduce the workload the next day.
"We figured, if we didn't, we'd never find them tomorrow," Klinzing said. "But it seems they are blowing back in."
The department uses tractors with snow blowers, with covered cabs, "so it's not like we're out in the elements," Klinzing said.
• • •
Jim Smith, in the marketing department at Monroe Truck Equipment, laughed when asked how business was going around noon Wednesday. Several of employees didn't make it into work.
"Good, good. We're doing what we can," he said. "Snow plow customers are coming in for repairs."
Smith said the company sent home employees who live outside the city limits.
Those who remained "are just anxious to know how their trip home is going to be," he said.
Monroe Truck Equipment canceled its second (3-11 p.m.) shift, which effected about 75 employees.
Smith said the shutdown is not expected to make a large economic impact on the company.
"It'll just delay items, but we'll be up to full strength tomorrow or Friday," he said.
• • •
Craig Krueger, service manager at Dearth Motors, was calling service customers around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning to cancel appointments. But he had to call only five of the 15 customers. He said six customers called to canceled their own appointments - and four came in.
One Monroe man came in for an oil change, because he was preparing for a trip to Florida soon. One lady came in for new tires.
A third customer drove from New Glarus.
"It's because we give such good service," Krueger laughed.
Only two of Krueger's service technicians were able to get into work at 7:30 a.m.; they live in Monroe. Four who live outside the city called to say they weren't going to make it.
Krueger was already back at his home in Albany by 1 p.m.; and he had the added benefit of taking a Jeep from the sales lot.
"It worked great," he said, but the usual 15-minute drive took 40 minutes.
County snow plows had been pulled off the roads by 11:30 a.m.
"I didn't see much of a trace of them," Krueger said.
• • •
Kelly Finkenbinder, Monroe's director of Public Works, was having all his calls forwarded to his work cell phone Wednesday. Even though the city closed its offices, Finkenbinder said "typically" departments like Public Works are not closed.
"Public Works has work to do in this kind of weather," he said.
"The airport is closed, and the Senior Center. But the Street Department tries to keep some paths open for emergency vehicles," he said.
Except for clearing emergency paths and roads to well houses for the water department, snow plows were pulled off the streets.
Finkenbinder said in conditions like those Wednesday, not only can snow plow drivers not see other vehicles, but other drivers can't see the plows.
Pulling snow plow drivers off the road gives drivers a chance to re-energize themselves.
"In situations like this, these guys get exhausted," Finkenbinder said.
An hour after plows were pulled off the roads, around 10:30 or 11 a.m., Finkenbinder said, the roads were blown back in again.
• • •
Hans Clark, pressman at Mr. Ink in Highlander Mall, said he had two customers Wednesday.
Clark drove in from Freeport at 10 a.m. Wednesday because he had a rush job to do. The drive took him two hours.
But Clark got stuck about three miles south of town on a hill.
"I love the Sheriff's Department," he said. "The Green County Sheriff's Department came along and pushed me out."
Clark said the parking lot is "impassible," and figured he might "stick around" Wednesday night, instead of trying to drive back home.
"We're snowed in," he said. "I went out and tried to back my car out, and got stuck. So I just left it."
Alderman Jan Lefevre was stuck at work at Mr. Ink. She drives a van, but didn't think she wanted to drive in the weather conditions. She arrived at 8:30 a.m.
"I don't ever remember it being this bad," said Lefevre, who has lived in Monroe 17 years. "Normally, I would have said, 'let's just shut it down.' But we had a rush job to do yet."
At 2:30 p.m., she was brainstorming where she'd be able to spend the night.
"My dad lives three blocks from here," she said. "He has a spare room."
Lefevre said the roadway between Mr. Ink and The Red Apple Restaurant was snowed shut. But still she walked over to the restaurant for lunch at 1 p.m. Ten people were eating there, she said.
• • •
President and CEO of Monroe Clinic, Mike Sanders, Monroe, and Monroe Clinic's Director of Marketing/Community Relations, Liz Carroll, Oregon, were both snowed in at, and working from, their respective homes in the country Wednesday.
Carroll said the hospital was not seeing any unusual patient volumes Wednesday. All physician appointments at the clinic were canceled at 1 p.m., but the hospital stayed at full staff and remained open.
Sanders said the hospital emergency room "got quieter as the snow got worse and worse," which was a good thing.
The hospital implemented its Incident Command System (ICS), a management system to organize emergency response, around 9 a.m. Wednesday. Sanders expected the system would remain in effect until Thursday morning.
The system takes into consideration both patient and staff welfare.
"You send your staff home from departments that can spare them," Sanders said. "But others in the hospital with in-patients are working extra, because some can't get in at all."
Sanders said the ICS initiated the search for places to sleep in town for staff who live outside the city. But he said cots were also "being set up in conference rooms, just in case."
Carrol said the ICS also helps with getting patents who are being discharged home.