(Jan. 12, 2017) Schoolchildren across the county had their prayers answered last weekend as the first snowfall of the New Year also brought about the first batch of school closings on Monday and Tuesday.
Worcester County announced on Facebook that its offices would be open during normal hours on Monday, although the liberal leave policy was in effective for nonessential employees.
Worcester County Public Information Officer Kim Moses said road crews started working on Saturday morning at 5 a.m. and worked to salt and plow the roads until late into the evening.
“Sunday, they worked from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and spent all day pushing back windblown snowdrifts to make the roads passable,” she said on Tuesday. “Currently, icy road conditions continue, but all county roads are passable. Roads crews are looking forward to the warmer temperatures today to speed up the clearing of ice and snow.”
County Emergency Services Director Fred Webster said snowfall totals varied in Worcester, but that weather stations were generally reporting 10 inches in the south end of the county and as much as a foot of snow in the north end.
Berlin Mayor Gee Williams issued a release on Monday announcing that a regular Town Council session would proceed as planned.
“The town administrator, our public works and police departments and many other town employees worked diligently Friday, Saturday, Sunday and will continue today to ensure that all Berlin town streets are cleared of snow and are safely passable for motor vehicles,” Williams said in the release. “All public parking areas and on street parking downtown that the town is responsible for were also cleared by 10 a.m. Sunday.”
Williams praised the State Highway Administration for its work in the cleanup effort and said Berlin Police “patrolled all streets and roads within the town during and after the snow storm and will continue their regularly scheduled patrols.”
“I know we are all once again very proud of the preparations and extraordinary performance of our town employees in clearing and patrolling our Berlin roadways, and also for their successful work in keeping all other functions of the town operating smoothly through this first major snow storm of 2017,” Williams said.
He noted that Town Hall was open during normal hours on Monday.
According to Berlin Water Resources and Public Works Director Jane Kreiter, the town got about 10 inches of snow.
Town government offices in Snow Hill and Pocomoke were also open on Monday, although some offices in Ocean Pines were apparently closed.
Pocomoke City Manager Ernie Crofoot said there were no incidents there and that offices opened normally on Monday. A city council meeting there would also run as scheduled on Monday evening. Crofoot did not have snowfall totals as of press time.
Snow Hill Economic Development Director Michael Day estimated the town received more than 10 inches of snow.
Ocean Pines Public Works Director Eddie Wells reported 12 inches of snow across the community and said crews were working to clean up areas they had calls on as of Monday.
Ocean Pines workers  started preparing staging equipment as of Friday. Plowing there is triggered by three or more inches of snowfall “or when conditions warrant.”