As the first snow event of the season kind of came as an anomaly to Guthrie County, the Secondary Roads Department is feeling prepared for more winter weather to come while maintaining other operations.

County Engineer Josh Sebern tells Raccoon Valley Radio he thinks the road employees did a great job clearing roads during a short but significant snow event that occurred a couple weeks ago, and he shares what mode his employees and equipment are currently in, “We’re still in a semi-in between phase. What we’re doing is we left a couple tandem axle dump trucks, we leave them unbuttoned as we call it, not buttoned up with plow equipment. So we’re still hauling some dirt, still got some rip rap to haul, the semis are still hauling sand, hauling rock, still moving material. We’re still keeping operations going, trying to cover wet pots and doing the best we can with that.”

For the next time snow or ice strikes, Sebern says the County is well supplied with salt and sand, and they’ve even given some of their supply to the local communities. When a major event happens, Sebern says he has 12 plow trucks and 10 maintainers that cover the near thousand miles of County roads. He adds that it could take a day and a half for them to clear all the roads, and paved roads take priority over gravel, so he appreciates residents’ patience during winter storms.