I would like to take this time to reflect on the severe winter storm that impacted nearly all of Missouri last week. It was one of the largest and most intense winter storms I have ever seen, and was one of the most extreme storms our state has ever experienced as well. In Jefferson City, we saw more than 18 inches of snow, and some areas of Missouri saw even more. According to a mid-Missouri news station, the blizzard set records as the snowiest 24-hour period in any February ever, and was the second snowiest day since records first began in 1890; the largest snowfall occurred Jan. 18-19, 1995.
Most of our committee hearings last week were cancelled, and lawmakers adjourned on Tuesday, Feb. 1, not returning to Jefferson City until Monday, Feb. 7. When the storm hit, many legislators were even trapped at the Capitol, ordering pizza and sandwiches for dinner and staying Tuesday night in their offices. The beginning of February 2011 will definitely go down in history as one of the most unusual for the Missouri General Assembly.
I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the Missouri National Guard and all the emergency crew members who risked their own safety to help others during the storm. Tremendous thanks are also in order to the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). Its road crews have been working nonstop in a diligent manner to get us safely back on the roadways, and I am grateful for the crew’s hard work.
MoDOT teams across our state prepared well in advance for the brutal storm by moving equipment from the southeast region of the state to the St. Louis area to assist with the snow removal, conducting conference calls with all the state districts and the Missouri Highway Patrol to discuss the storm and the plan of attack, and making sure all equipment and materials were ready to go, among other measures.
Director of System Management for MoDOT, Don Hillis, recommends staying off the roads in winter weather conditions, for the safety of motorists and for the MoDOT crew. “Don't travel. Travel in these conditions is treacherous and roads can become impassable very quickly. Once someone crashes or gets stuck, it prevents us from being able to plow,” he said.
On the MoDOT website, there are several tips listed for staying safe during winter travel. Visit www.modot.mo.gov and navigate to the “Safety” tab on the left-hand side of the page.
I was very grateful to see citizens of our state helping each other recover from the historic blizzard; whether it’s assisting someone with their vehicle on the highway, or shoveling snow for a neighbor, every good deed is much appreciated. We’re crossing our fingers at the Capitol that the winter weather will soon come to a close, but we’ll just have to wait and see. For the rest of winter 2011, I hope and pray that all our Missouri citizens and families will remain safe and stay warm.
As always, if you have any questions regarding this issue or any other matter within state government, please visit my website at www.senate.mo.gov/rupp. Here, you can also subscribe to my RSS feed on the main page of my website; it will keep you up to date on all my columns, press releases, and multimedia postings. Always feel free to e-mail me or call my office toll-free at (866) 271-2844.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment