County ready for winter’s arrival

HARTINGTON – Even though the first day of winter only arrived on Dec. 21, snow is a common sight in northeast Nebraska well before the date rolls around each year.

That means county highway superintendents like Cedar County’s Carla Schmidt have their eyes on the skies – and weather forecasts – so they are aware of and prepared for snowy weather predictions.

“We obviously pay attention to the weather forecast, and if a large storm is being forecast, we are all hands on deck,” Schmidt said of the county road department’s employees.

Schmidt said bus and mail routes in Cedar County are prioritized first for plowing snow and each machine operator has their own snow route.

“Since it’s not advantageous to move snow while the wind is blowing, we usually wait until the wind dies down and then go out to open roads,” Schmidt said.

Cedar County has six road department shops spread out among the following communities: Coleridge, Hartington, Laurel, Menominee, Randolph and Wynot.

“We have 23 guys total and 20 motor graders,” Schmidt said. “We put plows on each machine every winter for snow removal. We don’t have snowplow trucks like the state (Department of Transportation). We also use loaders to assist with snow removal, as necessary.”

Schmidt, who has been the Cedar County highway superintendent for 14 years, said the county road department does not “use salt much at all since the vast majority of county roads are gravel.”

“I don’t recall a specific winter being the worst,” Schmidt said. “Some years we move more snow than others.”