Winter storm leaves many without power

CELINA - As the winter storm dumped a half foot of snow on Mercer and Auglaize counties, some areas lost power and several stranded motorists and pets required assistance.

Local weatherman Dennis Howick said it was difficult to tell an exact depth due to winds, but estimated Saturday's storm dropped about six inches of snow and reached a low temperature of 1 below zero. According to the Dayton Weather Bureau, winds reached up to 42 mph.

Residents in both counties were advised to avoid road travel unless absolutely necessary. Auglaize County Sheriff Al Solomon advised Saturday night that roadways were hazardous with blowing and drifting snow, and roadways were icy due to freezing rain. Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey issued a level one snow advisory for the county at 11:05 a.m. Saturday, and later upgraded it to a level two snow advisory at 6:13 p.m. Grey lifted the snow advisory around 10:40 a.m. Sunday, thanking the public for their cooperation.

Minster Village Administrator Don Harrod reported the village had lost power from about 1-9 p.m. Saturday due to issues with Dayton Power and Light's feed. The outage affected thousands of customers spread across several Ohio counties.

At about 2:15 p.m., St. Marys Township Fire Department and the City of St. Marys Fire Department responded to a call of two dogs stranded on the ice on Grand Lake. St. Marys Township Fire Chief Chad Hicks said a civilian had been walking along the shoreline near Grand Lake St. Marys State Park when they noticed two dogs on the lake.

Hicks said the ice had still been extremely thin, only about an inch thick, and rescuers had to use a boat and were equipped with ice entry suits. When rescuers arrived, both dogs had been standing on the ice. One dog fell through into the icy water, then the other, and while one was able to climb its way out, rescuers had to retrieve the other dog. Hicks said it took about half an hour to rescue the dogs.

The animals had reportedly escaped from a fenced-in area, and the owner had been searching for them. Hicks said that last he'd heard, both dogs were doing fine.

John Menker, superintendent of the general services department for St. Marys, said his crews had to rescue several stranded motorists outside city limits on Saturday. People driving to or from work had become stuck, and county snow plows hadn't reached those areas yet, Menker reported.

The winds had made keeping the streets clear a nearly impossible battle Saturday night, even when crews tried to focus their efforts on keeping the main streets clear, Menker said. About 12 or 13 employees came in Sunday and worked from 6 a.m.-2 p.m. to finish what hadn't been cleared the night before. He said Sunday evening all city streets were open for travel. Menker commended crews for doing an excellent job.

Toby Lee, bridge superintendent for the Auglaize County Engineer's Office, said the biggest problem county crews ran into were abandoned vehicles in the road, a problem spread throughout the county. Crews worked from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and from 6 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Lee said the county received about the amount of snow that had been expected, and the wind had blown it how they'd expected, but the freezing rain had been a surprise for crews. All county roads were open Sunday evening, though blowing snow was still a concern. Lee said many roads would still be ice-covered today when drivers return to work.

Darren Porter, safety director and supervisor for the Mercer County Engineer's Office, said most roads still had a thin layer of snow and remained icy.

Despite some mechanical equipment breakdowns, which are common when dealing with heavy snow, crews had a smooth time clearing the streets in Celina, according to Joe Wolfe, the city's public works superintendent.

About 15 plows were out at one time, and crews worked from 3 p.m. Saturday to 11 a.m. Sunday to keep roadways clear. They had normal issues with people parked on streets. Wolfe noted that some houses in town don't have off-street parking, but the plows were able to get around the cars.

More work remains to be done. Wolfe said Sunday evening crews have to clear snow away from mail boxes so the post office can reach them and remove some of the large snow piles from downtown, but all city streets were open.

Due to the extremely low temperatures, most roads have not been salted and are still covered in snow. Wolfe said it was safer for travelers to drive on the thin layer of snow rather than risk any salted roads refreezing and being covered in ice.