Most people heeded weather warnings of impending single-digit temperatures and a snow storm, predicted for Monday, January 5, 2015, and into the next morning. Winter precipitation began in Morrison, IL, on schedule about 6:00 p.m. Protected inside their dwellings, some may have watched the glitter drift lightly–but relentlessly–through the evening, before heading to a cozy sleep.
But even before they did, by 9:00 p.m., two City of Morrison Department of Public Works employees were canvassing the town in “big trucks,” salting hills to lower the danger level on slippery roads. One employee worked an 11-hour shift and headed home at 8:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 6. The other worked 12 hours straight.
“One guy stays on the north side of the tracks, and another stays on the south side,” stated Gary M. Tresenriter, City of Morrison Director of Public Works.
There were smaller trucks for four employees who came to work at midnight for an eight-hour shift.
Tresenriter added, “Each guy stays in an area. They use radio communication until [clean up is] all done.” He was at work at 6:00 a.m., Tuesday, and drove around town to rectify public complaints and verify that “things are good.”
“Below is a list of employees who worked while most of us were nice and warm in our beds last night,” Tresenriter concluded.
- Crew Leader Mike Garland
- Randy Gerlach
- Drew Blean
- Dan Milnes
- Scott Strobbe
- Pete Swearingen.