The Guthrie County Secondary Roads Department got an early start to winter this Monday, as they worked to clear county roads of the couple inches of snow received overnight.

County Engineer Josh Sebern reflects on how their response to the first winter event of the season went, “It was the first storm out of the gate so the trucks were out, we were short a couple trucks – they were getting worked on at the time – but you know our guys really came through and got the roads cleared as best as we could. And then the temperatures went cold but we still managed to do the best we could. The guys did a great job.”

Sebern mentions that their truck fleet is now fully operational for the next winter storm to occur. He says they’re already well stocked with sand and salt, and shares how the department responded to last winter and spring’s frost boils and the deterioration of county roads, “That was brutal, I’ve never seen anything like that, I don’t know that anybody has. So we devoted a lot of resources into that this past summer, we exhausted our gravel piles, we’re having some new gravel produced for us right now and we’ll again through this winter. So hopefully we can come out of it in the spring with material on the ground ready to go and we’re geared up for it, because we do know there’s still some spots out there that need some help. We weren’t able to get it all covered, but we devoted a lot of resources in trying to get the roads restored last summer.”

In the event of a winter storm, Sebern says his department’s general hours of operation are 5 a.m.-5 p.m., and their first priority is clearing the county highways, with the public’s safety a top priority in determining overtime hours as well.