The Sanatoga Post

IT BRR-WHITENED THE HOLIDAY – The first snowfall of the 2010 winter season in Lower Pottsgrove PA Township fell Thursday morning (Nov. 25, 2010; Thanksgiving Day) at about 9:45 a.m.

Weather forecasters had predicted the day would be cold enough for either snow or sleet, and there would be plenty of moisture in the air to make them possible. They were right on both counts. The first flakes seen in Sanatoga fell across a weathered wooden railing, left, where the colors of fall still clung to trees in the background.

Within only 10 minutes more, the accumulation was heavy enough to give cars and their windshields, at top, a coating of white.

It's all over now. At least the Pottsgrove School District hopes so.

POTTSTOWN PA – Blame this winter’s severe weather for a shuffle in the Pottsgrove School District’s 2009-2010 calendar.

The district Board of School Directors, which by law must provide 180 total instruction days to students, unanimously agreed Tuesday night (March 9, 2010) to push the end of the school year back two days, from June 16 to June 18, and to schedule Pottsgrove High School‘s graduation ceremonies for June 17, so it could use the additional days and the Monday following Easter (April 5, 2010) as make-ups for snow days declared since January.

In addition, the district will re-schedule to June 21 what would have been the last day of work for teachers, and use it as a staff in-service day.

Students’ parents and teachers alike will be notified of the changes this morning (Wednesday, March 10, 2010) by the district’s Global Connect messaging system and other means, district Superintendent Dr. Bradley Landis said.

The calendar changes were difficult, Landis noted, because of already scheduled senior activities. The annual senior class trip to Florida, final exams, awards presentations, and commencement rehearsals all occur during the last two weeks of the school year.

And what happens, director April Kontostathis asked, if it snows again before the year ends and another snow day is needed?

Well, Landis replied, “if it snows again it’s probably too late to take another day from the calendar.” The likely options then would be to open school on the Monday observed as Memorial Day (“I don’t think attendance would be too good then,” Landis conceded), or to request a one-day wavier of the instructional days’ requirement from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

“But it’s not going to snow again,” a determined Landis said, smiling. “It’s just not going to snow again.”

Related (to the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ March 9 meeting):

• Pottsgrove School Board Meeting Tonight

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It wasn't all that long ago - Dec. 9, 2005 - that snow piled up along the roads of Lower Pottsgrove Township. One driver back then took this shot of his truck at the Best Western Inn, Industrial Highway.

SANATOGA PA – Just two days after Christmas, temperatures around Sanatoga today (Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008) are expected in the unseasonable 50s. Sunday could be better still, with highs nearing a record 65 degrees.

Don’t let the current weather fool you.

Lower Pottsgrove drivers must be prepared and alert for winter road conditions that are sure to return, according to the American Automobile Association, and that could affect a car’s handling and braking ability.

AAA last week offered its annual list of winter-driving suggestions:

• Increase your following distance. Build in a six-second time gap between your front bumper and the rear bumper of the car you’re following
• Exercise caution. Ice is most likely to form first and be slipperiest in shaded areas, bridges, overpasses and intersections
• Improve visibility. Clear snow and ice from the entire car. Brush away snow from the hood, roof, trunk, turn signals, lights, windows, mirrors, and fender wells
• Drive with headlights on low-beam. Lights at low-beam provide better road illumination in snow and fog than do high-beams
• Slow down in bad weather. Remember, posted speed limits are set for ideal road and weather conditions
• Avoid sudden starts, stops and turns. Accelerate carefully so car wheels don’t spin
• Apply brakes firmly. The best technique for braking on ice or snow is “threshold” or “squeeze” braking. Apply brakes firmly to a point just short of lock-up and ease off the brake pedal slightly. Steady pressure is better than “pumping” the brakes. For anti-lock brakes, continuous firm braking is recommended. Refer to your owner’s manual for proper procedure
• In a skid, ease off the accelerator. Carefully steer in the direction you want the car to go and straighten the wheel as soon as the car begins to go in the desired direction
• Anticipate danger. Be on the lookout for ice on bridges, snow-covered lane markings, stalled cars and poor visibility. Watch for drivers who are unprepared for changing road conditions
• Have at least half of tank of gasoline in your vehicle. Be sure to have a “winter survival kit,” in your vehicle, including ice scraper and brush; shovel; boots, gloves and hat; flashlight; and first aid kit.

Photo by Sam The Bruin Man

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Acknowledging that colder weather has arrived and snow may soon follow, the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Board of Commissioners approved bids last night (Oct. 23, 2008), made by three independent contractors, to help plow roads in coming months.

The township has about 100 miles of public road, of which 25 miles are maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). To clear the remaining 75 of ice and snow, Lower Pottsgrove has trained crews and five plow trucks of its own, township Manager Rodney Hawthorne said. It uses independent plow owners as needed,  particularly during heavy accumulations, to ensure roads are cleaned in a timely manner.

Hiring contractors for plowing chores next year will cost the township between $70 and $150 an hour per truck, depending on the individual bids accepted and size of truck used. Plowing costs last year were up to $10 per hour, or about 6 percent, lower. “That’s not a bad increase,” board President Bruce Foltz remarked, “given gasoline prices and everything else in this day and age.”

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Township Board of Commissioners’ meeting Oct. 23, 2008):

• Township Commissioners Meet Tonight

Computer chips turn on your coffee machine in the morning, and help you drive more safely while drinking that coffee and cruising U.S. Route 422 to work. Those tiny pieces of silicon also play a big role in keeping 422 and other state-maintained highways free of ice and snow this winter, according to Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation (PennDOT),

The pride of PennDOT awaits winter.

More than 2,200 PennDOT trucks are ready to clear roads across the state once snow begins to fall, says state Transportation Secretary Allen Biehler. Nearly all now come equipped with computerized salt spreaders to distribute the correct amount of salt regardless of the speed of the truck, and pre-wetting equipment that helps road salt work faster when it hits the roadway.

In days gone by, plow operators’ biggest worries were knocking down a mailbox or roadside fence. Now, Biehler says,  the concern is to “attack storms strategically.”

PennDOT relies on “smart-salting” techniques that give its operators flexibility to increase or decrease the amount of salt being distributed based on specific road conditions. They abide by guidelines for how much salt is used given the type of winter precipitation, the temperature, number of vehicles and other factors.

Strategic storm handling also means PennDOT changes its snow-clearing game plan when it feels the need. Because it focuses on clearing major routes, the agency occasionally redirects plowing and salting equipment from lower-traffic volume roads to major routes during significant storms.

Salt and sand in storage on North Pleasantview Road.

To a list of things jumping up in cost this winter, add road salt.

The grainy, pebble-sized mineral used to melt ice and snow off roadways is selling for as much as $185 a ton. A nationwide salt shortage is the reason, Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation (PennDOT) said Tuesday (Oct. 21, 2008), and at current prices it’s too expensive for many municipalities to afford … if they could find it to buy it.

More than 100 Pennsylvania boroughs, townships and villages couldn’t, so after examining its salt inventory and estimating winter needs PennDOT this week sold them 82,000 tons of the stuff from its own supply. At the highest market price, that would have been a $15.2 million sale. PennDOT charged buyers only $77 a ton, less than half the top rate.

Neither Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township, or any township in Montgomery County, were among those scrounging for salt. Two Chester County townships were on the buyers’ list, however, as were two Delaware County boroughs.

The sale was “unprecedented,” PennDOT said, and won’t be repeated.