Valentine's Day Snowstorm

Was a Historic One!

By M. D. Drysdale

What a storm! The Herald's weather reporter, Kevin Doering of Randolph Center certified that the 2007 Valentine's Day Blizzard dumped 30.5 inches on Feb. 14, from 1 a.m. to midnight. That was one of the highest readings in Vermont.

Doering thinks this may be the single biggest 24-hour total, going back to the dsys of Squire Nutting, who died in 1863. The Burlington weather station reported 25 inches, which broke the 24-hour all-time record there.

At least two people in the area were slightly injured in storm-related accidents. At the same time, at Gifford Medical Center, an infant made her first appearance in the world (see separate story).

In Hancock the roof of a big equipment shed collapsed.

Valentine's Day dinners at restaurants were a bust, but one brand new restaurant picked that day to open. Plows got stuck and snow blowers broke down all over the place, the town crew rescued a tractor-trailer on Route 66, and small dogs were bewildered about where to do their business (two sources told us that).

But the Interstate remained open and free of serious accidents, snowmobilers were ecstatic—once the trails were groomed—roads were cleared remarkably quickly. And, oh yes, The Herald managed to get to press (see editorial).

Victimized by the storm was Braintree Selectman Walter Palmer, who was shoveling the roof of his Northfield employer on Thursday when he fell. He didn't fall off the roof, according to his wife, but fell hard on his shovel, bending it and sustaining three broken ribs.

Five days after the storm, the leftover monster snow banks caused a pedestrian to be stuck by a car on North Main Street. Erica Dana of Randolph was clipped by the mirror of a southbound car, driven by RUHS basketball player Jon White of Randolph, on his way home after the final game of the regular season.

Dana was spun by the impact and fell, with her head striking the rear of the vehicle. She reported lower back pain and was transported to Gifford Medical Center for evaluation.

Randolph Police Chief Jim Krakowiecki said that both White, who has a learner’s permit, and his dad reported that Dana, who was not crossing at a crosswalk, "suddenly appeared" at the edge of the road. White was traveling an estimated 20 mph at the time of the accident. It was about 9 p.m.

Chief K issued an appeal to drivers to slow down, use extra caution, and to keep an eye out for pedestrians and children playing on snowbanks.

Posted speed limits—in the village it is 25 mph—are for "ideal conditions," Chief K noted and current conditions are far from ideal.

"With kids rolling on snow hills and playing—if you take your eyes off the road one second, it could be too late," he said.

Restaurant Opens

On Route 107 and Route 12 in Bethel, the Creek House Diner scheduled Wednesday to be its opening day in the former Wilson Diner building. Proprietor Ginger Boardman planned a "soft opening" by inviting 150 family and friends.

When she saw the soft stuff flying from the sky well before the 6 a.m. opening, she was philosophical but decided to open her doors anyway. Much to her amazement, dozens of people made their way through the storm.

"They kept coming in and the business has just taken off," said Boardman, who has been an accountant before buying the diner, which had been closed for two years.

What a Difference …

At Greenwood's in East Randolph, salesman Eric Kenyon said The Herald's headline should read, "What a difference a week makes!" Butch Greenwood was quoted in last week's Herald reflecting on what has so far been a miserable year for snowmobile sales.

But after the storm, Kenyon said, "It's like somebody turned the switch on, starting Thursday and it has not stopped.

"Anything to do with snow, skis, snow blowers, snow buckets, removal equipment. It's just been unreal."

The company went from having 14 used snow machines on hand down to five, and now the new sleds are getting a good look-see, he said.

Out on the trails, there was jubilation—but also a lot of work. Even the big grooming machines employed by local snowmobile clubs found the 30 inches of snow a challenge—and because it was so light, the first snowmobiles over a trail churned it up badly, noted Jack Cowdrey.

Tony Russo is the head groomer, and it takes him five hours to cover all the trails once, Cowdrey said.

Breaking the secondary trails was difficult, and "a lot of people are getting stuck," he noted.

Tragedy struck in Thetford, where a 20-year-old girl died when her snowmobile rolled on her.

Stuck in the Snow

Snowmobiles were not the only people getting stuck in the snow, he noted. "There was no one out there plowing snow that didn't get stuck," he said, and informal reports seemed to confirm that.

Wreckers were also busy with stuck cars. Jenna Poulin at Especially Imports said they had to decline about 20 jobs because they were so busy.

At Lenny Stockwell's, business was "absolutely unreal," according to Elaine Stockwell. They were called to a few rollovers on I-89 and kept two trucks running, sometimes two to three hours behind the calls.

In general, however, people helped by staying off the roads, confirmed State Trp. Gerry Goguen in the Royalton barracks.

"It went very well," he said. "The public heeded the warning. There were a small number of slide-offs, and the next day there were minor accidents on the smaller roads."

In Randolph, town crews "fared really well," according to Joe Voci. Employees logged about 30 hours of overtime during the storm.

Good Deeds

Besides plowing out a Gifford doctor to preside at a birth (see separate story) the town crew also cleared Route 66 when a tractor trailer jackknifed and threatened to shut down the whole road.

The town equipment was able to tow the vehicle to the Green Mountain Chapel parking lot where the trucker, who spoke no English, spent the night in his cab.

The storm was also the first big test of the new policy on Back Street. Because it's become a private road, the town no longer plows it, but Charlie Gilman's crew, employed by the Green Mountain Stock Farm, did a good job in keeping it open and clear, Voci said.

Skiers were happy, but there's one kind of outdoor recreation that does not work well under three feet of snow—ice skating.

On behalf of the Friends of the Randolph Rink, Michael Penrod publicly thanked "Joe and Robert and the man driving the front-loader for digging out the parking lot and ice rink on Friday.

"I don't think we would be open yet if it weren't for these guys helping us out. And a special thanks to Jim for working on the Zamboni…we have a great town crew and they should know we appriciate all they do."

Schools were closed virtually everywhere both Wednesday and Thursday. In Strafford, John Freitag said it was the first time in at least 25 years that the school had been closed the evening before the storm, rather than in the morning.