I could bore you with a lot of statistics of tons of salt and sand or the amount of snow that fell, but there is really only one that describes the effort. We ran fully deployed, every possible piece of equipment on the road, for over 50 hours. Basically it was a hot seat operation; when one driver ends their shift, another jumps in the vehicle and it heads back on the road. They call it “hot seat” because the seat is still warm from the previous driver when you get in to start your shift.

 That kind of response doesn’t happen without a total team effort.

 I know the public only see the trucks and plows going down the street, but everybody has to step up to make that happen. So thank you to:

• All the front line staff from the Operations Commission; TES, PRCS and Facilities & Maintenance, that got behind the wheel, loaded the trucks, pushed a snow blower or picked up a shovel to help fight the storm;
• The Supervisors that managed the response to the storm (as well as some water main breaks);
• The LSSC administration staff that also ran a 24/7 operation;
• Fleet, who kept the vehicles on the road;
• Stores, who kept us supplied;
• Citizens First, who fielded calls;
• Communications, who kept the public informed; and
• Anyone else I may have missed.

 I’ve had an opportunity to thank a lot groups personally, but I know I will not get to speak to everybody, so please pass this on.

Thank you!

Darryl Smith