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Residents still recovering from weekend storm
Published:
February 10, 2010
Residents who still might be sore from digging out their cars, driveways and sidewalks from last weekend's mammoth snowstorm are expected to be back at it as upwards of a foot of snow could fall by this evening.
The National Weather Service said the latest storm was to start at 10 a.m. Tuesday and bring 1 to 3 inches, followed by 4 to 6 inches Tuesday night and finish up with another 2 to 4 inches today. In addition to the snow, winds gusting up to 30 mph are predicted for today.
The forecast caused superintendents for Mars, Seneca Valley, Butler, South Butler and Freeport school districts to close their schools Tuesday. Mars canceled its school board meeting Tuesday night; it now will be Feb. 16.
In the weekend storm, the resilience of families and businesses was reflected in their ability to dig out of bad situations and start the job of getting back to normal.
Workers at the Foodland supermarket in Mars opened for regular business hours.
Gary Muska, co-owner, said although the store did less business than usual during the snowstorm, it didn't stop customers from shopping.
"I was surprised at the number of customers who came in on Saturday," Muska said.
The store's snow removal contractor began work at 2 a.m. Saturday. Other employees worked in the hours before the supermarket opened to get the sidewalks cleared.
Tom Cross, co-owner of the Freedom Square Diner off Freedom Road in Cranberry Township, said when the weather started getting bad Friday, his partner Ray Carrabbia stayed at a township hotel.
He came in Saturday morning and got everything shoveled, and the restaurant opened with the help of the staff.
Cross was unable to get to the Freedom Square plaza eatery because he was snowed in at his home.
"We actually had a table of 12 from a local neighborhood that was out helping their neighbors with shoveling. They came in and had breakfast together," Cross said.
James Moran, pastor at Cranberry Community United Presbyterian Church, said the majority of his faithful flock did not use the weather as an excuse to skip church on Sunday.
Moran said about 250 people — about 80 percent of the congregation — attended the two morning services.
He said the church has never canceled a service in its 27-year history.
Jeff McCormick, owner of C.T. McCormick Hardware in Zelienople, said he wasn't able to get to his business Saturday. He was stuck at his Mars home, cleaning his own long driveway.
McCormick was able to get to his Main Street business at about 7 p.m. Saturday to begin sidewalk cleanup there. When he opened Monday, snow removal sales were brisk.
"We ran out of shovels (Monday) morning. But, fortunately, we anticipated this, and they should be in by Wednesday," McCormick said.
The neighborhood hardware store had a few bags of salt left and a new order on the way.
Despite the weekend snow, Meals on Wheels director Mary Pataky said deliveries went out as planned Monday morning.
Meals on Wheels does not deliver during the weekends.
Pataky was a little nervous about having enough volunteers to get the meals delivered Monday, but enough volunteers eventually made their way in and deliveries were earlier than usual.
The weekend snow did slow Saturday mail deliveries.
According to the post office in Butler, about half of its carriers were able to make it into work Saturday and were able to make deliveries.
Carriers still were facing some delays in their attempts to deliver mail Monday. The postal service said it needs residents to clear their sidewalks and steps of snow and apply salt.
Residents with rural mailboxes also are asked to keep the paths to those boxes clear to help carriers make timely deliveries.
At Butler Memorial Hospital, many workers volunteered to stay for extra shifts. Additionally, most workers were able to make it in for their shifts, even if it wasn't on time.
Outpatient sites were open regular hours. The east campus, however, closed early because of low volume. Those workers filled in at other sites where needed.
At the Visiting Nurses Association, nurses fought through the weekend's snowstorm to see hospice and home health care patients, according to Debbie Kaylor, VNA's director of customer relations.
"One nurse slid into a snow bank on Saturday, called another nurse nearby who sent her husband to dig the stuck nurse out and then she continued her rounds," Kaylor said.
Eagle staff writers Paula Grubbs, Bob Schultz, Megan Duncan, Kelly B. Garrett and Kim Paskorz contributed to this report.
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