FARMINGTON — People knew the snow was coming. It was heralded as a nor’easter last week, but they were not sure the exact time it would hit Tuesday.
They made a steady showing Monday and early Tuesday at grocery stores to get food staples such as milk and bread, maybe a little junk food and beverages.
Jay’s fleet of dump trucks, big and small, were loaded with sand and ready to roll at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Not a flake of snow had fallen — yet.
But it didn’t take long for that to change. By 10 a.m. roads had a light coating and were starting to get slick in places. By early afternoon, snow was falling steadily and piling up quickly.
Courts in Farmington and schools in greater Franklin County were closed. Rangeley Lakes Regional School dismissed classes at 11 a.m.
County government offices, banks, town offices and libraries closed early. Meetings were canceled or postponed.
With so many places closed, there was less traffic, said Stan Wheeler, director of the Franklin County Regional Communications Center in Farmington.
“We actually expect fewer accidents because most people will stay home,” he said Tuesday morning.
When there is an inch or two, people are on the roads and nothing is canceled, so traffic is heavier and there is more potential for accidents, he said.
Last week, there were three rollovers within 20 minutes in New Sharon, he said.
There was a flurry of accidents in Franklin County but nothing serious, a dispatcher said.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
The Jay Public Works Department had its trucks loaded with sand and ready to go Tuesday morning before snow started falling.
Jay’s plow trucks were loaded and ready to roll by 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
