Through ice, sleet and snow CF delivers

by Jon Stemmle

now storms mean different things to different people.

For children, it presents the chance to stay home from school. For adults it means either taking a vacation day or braving the elements to get into work.

At the University of Missouri, classes may be cancelled but the university never closes. Vital elements of the campus, such as electricity, water, heat, etc., must be provided regardless of the weather. Snow must also be plowed so MU employees can get into their buildings. Steps and walkways must be salted, and personnel on hand in case of maintenance emergencies.

Snowy wonderland: The Old Beef Barn across from the General Services Building, near the intersection of Monk Drive and Stadium Boulevard, seemingly nestles on a carpet of snow. The cleared roads and parking lot, courtesy of Landscape Services.

Sleeping on the job

Sleeping at work is a bad idea in almost every conceivable scenario...except one. When during the work day, notice is received of an impending eveining or overnight snowstorm. When this is the case, some Landscape Services employees who live out of town prefer to remain at work and sleep there rather than go home.

"When everyone else is in bed, we're out cleaning," said landscape supervisor Hugh Barnes, a 40-year veteran of the MU snow crew. "Employees who live out of town have spent the night at my house or with another co-worker if they know it might be tough to get back to Columbia."

Once employees get to work they don't usually leave for some time. During the recent storm, the snow crew worked more than of 2,300 hours on snow removal.

Pick-up lines

Winter storms, such as the 19-inch monster of 1995, sometimes dump so much snow that employees can't make it into work. When reinforcements or key people are needed, workers from Landscape Services and Building Services have driven to homes to bring in people.

"We have a couple of four-wheel drive vehicles in our department and, on occasion, we have picked up key people," said Julia Curry, director of Building Services.

"In the 1995 storm, we had several people who could not make it in," said Tom Flood, superintendent of Landscape Services. "After the first 12 hours we needed all the people we could get for relief so we went around and picked up people."

Lighting up

Regardless of road conditions, electricity, heat and water must continue to flow to the university. For members of the MU power plant, this means pre-planning and possible road trips to keep the university running.

Last month's snow storm resulted in mounds of snow that almost hid street signs.

"With this last storm, most everyone made it in OK," said Mervin Wells, operations supervisor in Energy Management. "We have had shifts here that have had to stay until the guys on the next shift could make it in. Usually it's not a problem unless we get more than three or four inches of snow."

For those who can't make it in, help is just a phone call away.

"If guys can't make it in we will send someone to pick them up,'' Wells said. "It doesn't happen too often, but when you've already worked a 12-hour shift you can't go much longer."

Come sleet or snow

The next time you come into work after a snowstorm, notice the plowed roads, salted-and-cleared walks, and iridescent, shining lights. It happens because Campus Facilities' men and women make sure the university never closes.