Winter arrives

This morning's temperature of 8 degrees before calculating wind chill reminded us all that notwithstanding the unseasonably warm weather we've been enjoying, it is winter.  In reviewing last year's blog posts recently, I noted how many days our operations were curtailed last January and February by heavy snow.  With that in mind, I thought I'd review our normal practice in the event of a snowstorm.

Since we are located within a courthouse, access is controlled by Trial Court security.  If the Trial Court decides the building should close early or not open in the morning, then we mirror that closing since we would be unable to let members of the public into the building.  There is not one set place to obtain that type of information.  It's best to check with the media and, as soon as I get the news, I post it here, so this blog is a good resource.

Short of the building being closed, we try to stay open during our normal business hours but sometimes employee safety dictates closing early.  Often we send the bulk of the staff home early and keep a few volunteers on hand for a bit longer.  A couple of years we did that, however, and the snow got so deep by the time we left that the only way any of us got out of the parking lot was by flagging down a passing snowplow and slipping the driver $20 for him to clear a path to our cars.  After that experience, I became a little quicker on making the decision to close.

Hopefully this will all be a theoretical discussion and any snow we receive will be more nuisance than major impediment.  After all, snow has already accounted for (indirectly, at least) two days of closure in the aftermath of the Halloween storm.  But just in case, remember to check the blog when it snows.