A widespread winter storm produced wintry precipitation across a distance of about 1,500 miles, from Kansas to New York, creating hazardous conditions for millions of people, and for some, the biggest snowstorm in years. Approximately twelve inches fell in Kansas and Missouri experienced blizzard conditions.
Here in Benton County, the storm had county commissioners and each town’s public works departments on high alert as they worked against overwhelming odds to keep area residents safe.
In Warsaw, the town has in excess of twenty miles of streets and roads to clear and treat to reduce the risk of accidents. New Public Works Director, Brad Blankenship just assumed his duties on January 1, 2025.
Blankenship did bring experience to the job as he worked for Sedalia on public works for 22 years prior to coming to Warsaw. In Sedalia, he recalled a time when they dealt with a 22 inch snowfall.
When questioned about his plan of action, Blankenshp said, "When I learn of an impending storm, I try to discover when it will arrive, then the projection of its severity, and if serious, have the crews begin getting the equipment ready to roll."
The entire team had been working 12-hour shifts that leave little time for sleep or rest.
"The biggest challenge we face is sleep, and not getting enough of it," said Jesse Utting, a City of Warsaw public works employee.
Blankenship's crews had worked with three trucks on at night, three trucks on days and three were held as backup in case someone is injured or sick and can’t fulfill their duties.
In Lincoln, Public Works Director, Josh Cole and his righthand man, Donnie Bennett handled approximately fifteen miles of streets and were kept busy keeping the intersections heavily salted and sanded.
Cole said, “That three to five inch snow we got on Thursday night was almost a blessing.”
He continued, “It was so wet and so heavy that it actually softened and loosened the bottom ice pack to where we could get down to pavement.”
In Cole Camp, the city is temporarily without a Public Works Director. A new employee has been hired but does not start until January 20, as he is not licensed in water and sewer and will be attending school for those accreditations. A full-time employee was down sick and unable to be on the job. Also, a part-time employee had taken a fall from a tree and was unable to fulfill some duties.
The first couple days of the storm, Steve Knox, a city alderman, ran the snow plow and worked to keep the intersections heavily salted and sanded. Finally, Phillip Anderson, the part-time employee, received medical clearance and was released to sit and run the snow plow which then freed Knox for the skid loader. As the storms have now moved on, Knox stated he had worked 60 hours in a catch as catch can situation and thanks to the small town “neighbor helping neighbor” everyone came through safe and sound.
In conversation with Benton County Presiding Commissioner Steve Daleske, he stated, “I leave the decisions of how to handle the snow and ice up to the North and the Southside Commissioners. It’s their areas and they have a better idea of the need locally.”
The decision was made to close the Benton County Courthouse one day due to difficulty of office workers in getting to their jobs.
Southside Commissioner Larry Berry stated, “We always push the asphalt roads first and the gravel roads aren’t usually pushed unless the snowfall is in excess of five inches”
Berry did say that, of course drifting is a different scenario, and their chief concern is for emergency vehicles in areas such as White Branch and all over the south part of Benton County.
He concluded, “My guys really came through as they worked 24/7 from one Saturday at Noon to the next Saturday at Noon.”
Northside Commissioner Scott Harms stated that drifting had been a big problem in this storm due to high winds, especially west toward Windsor where there were some big drifts. Farther south there are numerous hills to contend with and they do push them too. Harms agreed with Berry that it is the concern for the safety of emergency vehicles being able to travel.
He concluded, “Every snow is different.”