Spring started at 1:26 p.m. Monday but by that time the weather reports indicated Owen County could expect between 2 and 4 inches of snow, sleet and freezing rain from a strong spring storm that was affecting most of the midwest.
By noon Tuesday, however, the county had received a couple of inches of slush but little snow. Accumulations of an inch or less were forecast for the remainder of the day,.
Around the community Monday, local grocers were gearing up for an anticipated rush.
“I imagine we’ll get busy this afternoon,” said Tammy Bishop of Saveway. “We just got a truck and stocked up this morning. I imagine everyone will stop when they get off work this afternoon.”
By Monday afternoon, it was difficult to find a parking spot at the local grocery store.
Rodney Forsee of Meadow View Shopwise said Monday his grocery store had also just gotten a truck and stocked up on the staples.
Forsee said he wasn’t looking forward to the bad weather, but the extra business it usually brings in would be nice.
The mild weather has impacted sales some at the local grocery.
“It really does impact us,” he said of the fewer snowy days the community has experienced this year. “When it snows, people don’t eat out as much, they stay at home and it keeps the money here at home.”
State road crews were out starting Monday morning pretreating the roads. After pretreating, the trucks were to be reloaded and ready to go back out when the storm hit.
Here at home, Owen County Road Foreman Dan Logan said he wasn’t anticipating a lot of problems, but said his trucks were ready to head out if the need arose.
“Our trucks are ready. We’ll deal with it when it gets here,” Logan said, explaining that because the county uses cinders, it’s impossible to pretreat the roads.
“Cinders gives traction and then when it starts to warm up, it begins to break down the snow and ice,” he said. “It’s not as quick as salt, but it’s pretty effective.”
Owen County’s crews are responsible for 264 miles of county roads. The road crews are divided into six routes with trucks running each of those routes.
In addition, the county helps out the city of Owenton with salting and clearing of city streets.
Logan said he’s thankful for the mild winter, especially since it was his first as road foreman.
“It could have been so much harder,” he said. “The snows have been timely, so it hasn’t affected the roads too much.”
He added that he also wasn’t too concerned since the current ground temperature is about 52 degrees. “We’re hoping that it’s warm enough that it won’t stick,” he said.

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