Devoid of snow until now, we certainly made up for this past weekend. Greenwich received anywhere from 18 to 24 inches of the fluffy white stuff, much more than originally anticipated. Before the first flakes fell there was talk of “snowmageddon” as people felt the need to stock up on supplies as if anticipating a long siege. Sometimes that can be fun. Stocking up on storm food can be an excuse to indulge and purchase chips, ice cream and extra drinks in hopes having a few days off where you can hunker down and binge watch your favorite shows on Netflix. Grown-ups may not readily admit it, but forced snow days can be a welcome reprieve from our hectic winter schedules.
But not everyone gets a snow day. While we were in our warm, well-provisioned homes first responders and town employees were hard at work. Early on Saturday, there was a nasty accident as a Connecticut Transit bus lost its traction while trying to climb the hill on Sound View Drive, went off the road, crashed through a utility pool and ended up lodged on a stone wall. Greenwich Police, Fire and GEMS were quickly on the scene. One person needed to be transported to the hospital. We are thankful to our first responders for their willingness to brave the elements to assist us when accidents occur.
One might argue that it is their job to respond when emergency calls come in. Yes it is. But it is those men and women who choose a profession where you might have to run into a burning building, face an unknown threat to catch a bad guy or provide life-saving medical assistance. In choosing their professions, they did not choose just a career they choose to put others before themselves. Words like “service” and “duty” easily spring to mind when contemplating why they made their decision—and also “community.” They are at the heart of our community keeping us safe from others, from ourselves and helping us in literally life and death situations. They are too modest to draw attention to themselves, so we are.
Fortunately, this past weekend most residents followed First Selectman Peter Tesei and Police Chief James Heavey’s request and stayed off the streets. Police, fire and GEMS calls were average or slightly below. By the evening our town was very quiet. However, there was a group of town employees that were busy all weekend long. The men and women of the Public Works Highway Division do not get a snow day, they get a snow job. They are the ones responsible for clearing 265 miles of roadway, which does not include the Post Road or Merritt Parkway. They also must clear 33 municipal and commuter parking lots and 14 Board of Education facilities, including our schools.
Joseph Roberto, who heads the Highway Division, does an incredible job of managing a small army of individuals and equipment. More than 100 town employees were called to action not just to keep our street passable during the height of the storm, but to remove snow after the storm had passed. When the snow stops falling, Joe is organizing a symphony of movement to ensure the central business district is clear of snow as quickly as possible, with the least disruption to our residents. In the case of the most recent storm, our 26 large plows rolled out immediately and were assisted by 25 smaller plows, contractors and pay loaders.
When we went to bed Sunday night they were still hard at work ensuring our schools were accessible and safe, not just for buses and cars, but for all of our students who walk to school. They rested while we worked on Monday and then were back at work Monday night. At the risk of alienating our school-age readers, thank you Highway Department for making our Monday commute so easy.
While there is no significant snow forecast in the foreseeable future, we are looking forward to the next snowmageddon so we can finish binge watching West Wing on NetFlix.
