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Tuesday, 08 December 2009 |
By LEE COLEMAN
Assistant Editor
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The weather forecast for today suggested Guymon and the surrounding areas could have some frozen winter weather. Sometimes forecasts are correct, sometimes they're not. One thing is certain and that is the readiness of the Emergency Management Agency [EMA] and the roads crews in all the districts of the county.
"We have all of our trucks and sand plows ready to go," said EMA Director Harold Tyson Monday morning. "The Red Cross will be notified if we do have to set up a shelter.
"This is something we're always set up to do, we just watch the weather closely. These winter storms are hard to predict because the weather systems can shift suddenly."
If a winter storm is bearing down, the National Weather Service will hold a phone conference with the county commissioners, city council, public works and those people closely involved to discuss how things are going to be worked out to clear the roads. As a rule, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation handles all state highways while the county crews will handle the county roads.
For example, in county District One in Hooker, there are 132 miles of paved roads that may need plowing whereas District Two in Guymon has 133 miles and District Three in Texhoma has 120 miles. Conversely, there are about 2,700 miles of unpaved roads.
"We usually put our equipment out about 24 hours before we know something is coming." said District One Commissioner Ted Keeling.
"We have been set up and ready to go for two months now." said District Two Commissioner Gary Winters.
In District Three, Commissioner and Chairman Jack Strain said his crews and equipment are ready to go but noted patience could be a virtue when dealing with winter storm scenarios.
"It's a lot of wait and see what happens." he said.
From an employee standpoint, the county program is designed so crews and personnel can quickly galvanize to clear the roads.
"Everybody is ready to go to get the citizens moving so they can get to work and for emergency vehicles in case they are needed." Tyson added.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 14 December 2009 )
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