City status
Mayor Andy Cook said Westfield has had no reports of power outages, serious police or fire calls or life-threatening situations. Cook said there was a commercial building collapse on Ind. 32 but it was unoccupied and there were no injuries. He said the flat roof got weighed down because of snow and caved in. Additional details are not yet known.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
According to the National Weather Service, the following preliminary snow totals were reported to in Hamilton County as of 6:45 a.m. today: Westfield, 13 inches; Carmel 12 inches; Noblesville, 10.5 inches; Fishers, 10.1; and Cicero, 9.5. The highest amount listed was Tipton with 15 inches.
Limited government tomorrow
The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners has decided to close all Hamilton County government offices on Tuesday. This includes county courts, offices, buildings and parks. Essential public safety employees will remain active and on duty.
The City of Westfield also will only be staffed by essential personnel as government offices will be closed.
Clearing roads
Mayor Andy Cook said additional help was hired to help clear neighborhoods, which received the first clearing last night.
“We’re still working on neighborhoods,” he said.
Cook said all of the street department’s vehicles (five large trucks, 30 pickup trucks and his yellow jeep) are out continuing to clear the roads. Major roadways like Spring Mill, Towne and Ditch are causing the biggest headaches because they aren’t staying clear.
“We’ve got all the trucks out,” he said. “Wind is what is killing all the main roads.”
Cooks asks residents to not plow or blow snow across streets and remove all cars from streets so plows can clear roads.
“We have to clear the streets. We cannot clear everybody’s driveways. We’re trying to do as good a job as we can but it’s tough in cul-de-sacs,” he said. “Where we have to put the snow is an inconvenience but we try our best with the space we have.”
This could take more than one day to clean up
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office advises that the county is under a “Blowing Snow Advisory” until midnight and a “Wind Chill Advisory” until Tuesday. Extremely cold temperatures remain a threat to life so officials urge residents to remain at home or in a safe, warm place. Temperatures are expected to remain subzero with wind chills at -20 to -30. Please check on those in the neighborhood who may need assistance. Also please make sure fire hydrants are cleared of snow in case of an emergency. The weight of the snow and ice is also causing concerns for structures and trees in the county.
Schools closed Tuesday
All Westfield Washington schools will be closed Tuesday. WHS Principal Stacy McGuire said an e-mail from the state Dept. of Education indicted that schools closed today and filled out waiver would be granted a 1-day exemption on the 180-day requirement.
Keep us in the loop
Have photos or stories you want to share about how you spent the snow day or the conditions around your home? Email [email protected]
Trash piling up
Ray’s Trash suspended pickup one more day due to the weather and will not pick it up Tuesday. The new schedule will be similar to holidays and the intention is to have every Westfield home collected by Saturday.
Monday meeting canceled
The Westfield Advisory Plan Commission meeting for 7 p.m. tonight has been postponed to Jan. 21 in City Hall’s Assembly Room. All items on tonight’s agenda will be heard at that time.
No fines for library
The Westfield Washington Public Library was closed today. Officials said that items due today will be forgiven as staff will override any fines once the library reopens.
Traveling restrictions
Hamilton County public officials conferenced earlier today and the decision was made to leave the current travel restrictions in place for county maintained roads. A Travel Warning is in effect for county roads north of Ind. 32. Only emergency responders are out on the roads and the public should refrain from traveling on county roads north of Ind. 32. A Travel Watch is in effect for county maintained roads south of Ind. 32. This advisory means only emergency travel or travel to and from work is advised. County highway workers described north/south roads in the northern part of the county as problematic with blowing and drifting snow covering roadways soon after being plowed. East/west roads are slightly better but all roads are still dangerous for travel. These restrictions are for county roads only. Each municipality sets its own travel advisory levels.
Limited need for shelter
Deputy Bryant Orem with the sheriff’s office reported that 20 people have sought assistance at the emergency shelter located at Carmel High School. Carmel Police Dept. has an officer on the scene and says that 14 people have taken shelter at the school. Duke estimates that power will be restored to almost every home in Carmel by 11:30 p.m. Monday.