Snow

Piling snow up around fire hydrants when clearing sidewalks and parking spaces could result in a tragedy, according to a fire company officer in Washington County. "There could be serious problems if that snow freezes and the hydrants can't be used," said Dave Myers, assistant chief Sharpsburg Fire Company. Myers said he saw several examples of snowed-in hydrants on Main Street in Sharpsburg Saturday morning and was going to notify State Highways Administration officials. "If there would be a freeze and we couldn't get to the water, there could be grave consequences," Myers said.

HAGERSTOWN - The City of Hagerstown spent $192,448 to remove ice and snow that accumulated on the city's streets during the storms of Feb. 13 and 25, said Eric Deike, the city's public works director. Overtime expenses accounted for $67,099 of that amount, Deike said. Other costs were associated with equipment and vehicle operations, and purchasing de-icing salt, he said. City officials budgeted $369,436 in fiscal year 2007 for snow and ice removal, and roughly $257,764 has been spent since the first snowstorm hit in December, Deike said.

Spring Break is scheduled to begin Thursday for Washington County Public Schools, but it turns out students looking forward to that glossed over the possibility of another snow day. Schools were closed Monday in the county as 4.2 inches of snow had fallen on Hagerstown by 1:45 p.m., according to local weather observer Greg Keefer's website at i4weather.net . “We usually don't get snow this late,” Elizabeth Stell, 14, of Hagerstown, said....

Borough of Waynesboro property owners who fail to clear their sidewalks of snow within 24 hours of a storm ending are facing increased fees. Fines were $10. Now, under a borough council vote Wednesday, property owners could be issued either a $75 ticket or a $100 citation, the latter of which carries state-related fees on top of the $100. The borough council directed an ordinance to be written for adoption later. Council members indicated they want tickets to be the primary method of enforcement.

Two inches of snow recorded in county A storm moving up the East Coast dumped more than two inches of snow on Washington County Monday, closing schools and causing minor traffic accidents. Hagerstown City Police, Maryland State Police and Washington County Sheriff's deputies reported several fender benders across the county. Washington and Frederick County school districts were closed for the day. So far this season, Hagerstown has received 16.8 inches of snow, according to Hagerstown Weather Watcher Greg Keefer's Web Site.

City, county- Snow budgets will last By SCOTT BUTKI / Staff Writer Washington County and the city of Hagerstown still have money in their budgets to pay for more snow cleanups. Unless Washington County is hit with a lengthy, big storm it will have enough money in its snow budget, Washington County Highway Department Director Ted Wolford said this week. If the budget runs out, he can dip into money from the highway user fund reserves, said Wolford and County Administrator Rodney Shoop.

TRI-STATE -- This week's snow was topped with a coating of ice today, making walking a perilous task. Today's rain and freezing rain was the latest in a string of wintry weather this week, although local police and dispatchers said things stayed relatively calm on highways, even with the icy weather. Although a Berkeley County, W.Va., 911 dispatcher said winter storm warnings had been lifted as of 4:47 p.m., the National Weather Service was warning motorists that standing water along icy roads could freeze tonight as temperatures dipped to around 21 degrees.

andrews@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Three people in Franklin County died after shoveling snow during the recent storm, a Waynesboro (Pa.) Hospital official said. All three were men, said Cathy Kimmel, a clinical coordinator at the hospital. One died Monday, one died Tuesday and one died Wednesday. No information was available about the identity of the men, other than that they lived in southern Franklin County, Kimmel said. All suffered cardiac arrest while shoveling, she said.

Editor's note: Tim Rowland is on vacation, so we do not have a new column to run in this space. Instead, we are running a column that first ran on Monday, Jan. 15, 1996. This is getting monotonous. I am tired of seeing the snow, I am tired of reading about the snow, I am tired of writing about the snow, I am tired of hearing about the snow. Most important, I am tired of altering my eating patterns because of the snow. You have to understand, the concept of "stocking up" is foreign to me. My idea of meal planning is the Kellogg Variety Pak. So with 70,000 tons of snow between me and the nearest food outlet every day for the past week, things have been tough.

HAGERSTOWN -- City residents are responsible for clearing sidewalks after snow and ice events in the winter -- a responsibility that is really a public safety issue, said John Lestitian, chief code compliance officer for the City of Hagerstown. The city's policy regarding removal of snow from sidewalks was reviewed Tuesday during a Hagerstown City Council meeting. City code inspectors are sent out to monitor whether people clear their sidewalks within an appropriate amount of time after precipitation stops.