Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Awnings Drop Due To Weight Of Snow

Monday dawned with bright, beautiful blue skies and the promise of more melt-off of the snow.

According to Vicki Plasek, dispatcher with the Gurdon Police Department, the main streets in town were in good shape, though the side streets remained covered in snow.

However, no injuries or serious accidents were reported because of the blizzard conditions of January 2000.

The only damage inside the city limits of Gurdon were awnings collapsing under the weight of more than a foot of snow.

The awning at the Gurdon Times succumbed, as did the one at Calley's Fina. Calley's awning, though, fell on a vehicle.

Jake McBride lost a metal lean-to attached to his Kerr-McGee station, but said it was no big deal.

An awning at the Gurdon Primary School was also damaged because of the snow.

Several motorist found themselves unexpectedly in ditches because of the slick conditions, but no injures were reported because of these accidents.

Harold Hurst, manager of the Gurdon Water and Sewer Department, said he went on three calls for customers, but the city's water and sewer system was pretty much unaffected by the weather.

In addition, he said, there were few reports of water lines being frozen or broken because of the weather conditions.

He added, though, when the thaw starts is when any real problems will be noticed.

McBride, who is also the Gurdon Fire Chief, said fortunately no fires were reported. "Everybody must have been careful, but it wasn't really very cold."

Some chicken houses in the area fell in, he said, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

"I feel very fortunate it's ended like it did," he said. "We're not out of the woods yet, but we're on our way."

Clark County Sheriff Troy Tucker, Monday, said things were going better than they did during the weekend.

Along with the two shelters set up in Gurdon, he said, four others were established in and around the Arkadelphia and Caddo Valley areas.

Clark County Sheriff's Office deputies were kept busy shuttling motorists stranded on Interstate 30 to and from the shelters.

Tucker said there were between 200 and 300 people helped by the shelters during the weekend.

Some of the biggest problems with traffic on I-30, he said, were semis jackknifed and blocking the road.

Thursday and Friday, he said, from the Clark County line to the Hot Spring County Line eastbound on I-30 was one lane only, with the same situation from the county line to Nevada County westward.

Several motorists simply got out and left their vehicles in traffic lanes, causing tie ups, Tucker added.

"There was no going through the median," he said. However, many vehicles did wind up there after sliding off the roadway.

The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, Tucker said, had crews out soon after the snow began sticking on the roads, working to keep the interstate clear.

However, he said, there are 60 miles of interstate highway in the county, which is a lot of road to keep cleared.

The Arkadelphia McDonald's, Tucker said, opened and provided free food for those in need during the worst of the blizzard. Several other groups did the same.

Mostly though, Tucker said, the snowstorm was an inconvenience for people.

The majority of truck drivers stayed with their rigs, he said, while many motorists also refused to leave their vehicles for the shelters.

Deputies and other rescue workers also shuttled people to the Human Development Center and hospital, with one patient taken to Baptist Hospital in Arkadelphia for their dialysis treatment.

Rural Clark County was almost impassable, he said, with the county roads covered in snow.

It was fortunate, he added, no fires were reported as it would have been difficult for firefighters to reach the scene quickly.