Grey County has recognized the efforts of staff that worked long hours to serve the public during the recent blizzard over Christmas.
County council’s meeting on Jan. 12 was the first time council had met since the blizzard paralyzed the local area over the holiday season. Although most of the snow that fell during those days has melted, the county has not forgotten the efforts of staff to ensure services continued.
County senior managers each took time at the meeting to thank their teams for their efforts during the blizzard.
“All of the services came together to make sure the community was taken care of,” said Communications Manager Rob Hatten, who said the county’s road conditions web page received 182,000 visits during the blizzard.
Transportation Director Pot Hoy said from Dec. 23 to Dec. 25, the local area received between 50-60 centimetres of snow. There were also periods of extended high winds and plunging wind chill temperatures.
“The drifting was kind of an uphill battle for us,” said Hoy, who noted that some county transportation department staff slept on cots at work during the storm. “They sacrificed their family time.”
Hoy said despite the serious weather conditions there weren’t many serious incidents on local roads, but did say a car that had been buried and left on the road was hit by a county snow plow.
“I want to thank all the transportation staff. They really went above and beyond,” he said.
Long-term Care Director Jennifer Cornell said staff at the county’s three long-term care homes in Durham, Markdale and Owen Sound worked diligently during the storm. The county’s long-term care facilities are home to 316 people 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Our homes were in the heart of the storm,” she said.
Cornell said some staff packed bags ahead of the storm and stayed throughout the weather event, knowing they would miss Christmas.
“Everybody worked together to look after the residents and each other,” said Cornell. “It was a tough few days. I can’t express enough how people went above and beyond.”
Housing director Anne Marie Shaw recognized the staff in her department for their efforts during the storm. The county has 995 units of housing and 2,000 residents to support. She said everybody worked hard throughout the storm to ensure services continued.
“Our custodians shovelled a whole lot of snow over the holidays,” she said.
Director of Paramedic Services Kevin McNab said he had staff stay overnight at work, or at the homes of colleagues to ensure services remained available. McNabb noted that the local area is used to storms lasting a day or a day and a half.
“A three-day storm – it really stretches your resources,” he said.
McNabb said during the storm calls for service remained relatively stable and the service remained continuous despite the weather conditions.
“There was literally no visibility at times,” he said.
CAO Kim Wingrove and Warden Brian Milne extended their thanks to all staff for their efforts during the holiday blizzard.
“Everybody was really here for each other. I’m just really grateful,” said Wingrove.
Milne said the Grey County spirit is strong.
“I am absolutely not surprised. I’m heartened to hear these stories. It’s Grey County, it’s how we deal with these things,” he said.
