Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Editorial

By JOHN RAGSDALE, EDITOR

A sign erected on the new city marquee on the parkway between Main and Walnut expressed the desire of someone: Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow. It did. Perhaps more than that someone desired. It snowed and snowed and snowed, beginning Wednesday night and continuing through Friday morning. The bulk of it fell Thursday.

Some people may not have agreed with the sign after the white stuff came down; much more fell than most people desired. Estimates ranged from 10 to 16 inches of snow fell Thursday, enough to upset some who just as soon not have any at all, which was also enough to upset some people.

It certainly played havoc with traffic on Interstate 30 and other highways in the county. Some farmers, too, were pretty upset with the snow. Many lost barns and some had chicken houses to collapse, a reminder of a much smaller snow storm a few years ago that destroyed several poultry houses.

No major injuries were reported from accidents caused by the snow storm, but many, many accidents were reported. Several hundred people were stranded on Interstate 30 from Little Rock to Texarkana. The worst area was apparently in Clark and Nevada Counties, where the Arkansas Army National Guard was called out.

Gov. Mike Huckabee called out the Guard for the Arkadelphia area on Thursday afternoon, and in Prescott around 7:00 p.m.

The Guardsmen helped stranded motorist to shelters in Prescott. Shelters were set up at Central Baptist Church, First Baptist Church and at First United Methodist Church. Guardsmen set up barracks in the armory on Gee Street for themselves.

The Nevada County Sheriff's Department, the Arkansas State Police and many volunteers, as well as others, were on duty all night Thursday, assisting motorist and trying to untangle the mess on I-30. Many tractor-trailer rigs jack-knifed on the Interstate or became stranded. In so doing they blocked other traffic. Many truckers, when they became stalled, took time to sleep, which also caused a dangerous and inconvenience to many other motorist. Some motorists at the shelters said truckers stopped in the middle of the road and went to sleep or left their rigs to go somewhere else. However, it was rough on the truckers. Slowing down for hazardous stuff, they would stall going up a small grade. It's hard to pull 80,000 pounds up an ice-covered slope.

First Baptist reported around 50 people took shelter in its recreation and fellowship hall. Around 40 were taken to First Methodist and another 15 took shelter at Central Baptist.

Many were stranded for a number of hours before they were rescued. Calvin and Amanda Russell of Okolona stalled around 1:30 Thursday afternoon near the 50-mile maker close to the Little Missouri River. They were not rescued until 3:30 Friday morning by members of the Guard. They were taken to First Baptist.

A cross-section of the people stranded and in shelters revealed there were people from north going south and people from the south going north who were stranded. One man at First Baptist was from South Dakota. A couple were going from Michigan to Arizona. Others were from Texas and Louisiana going to northeast Arkansas, Tennessee and Illinois.

The same was true at Central Baptist and First Methodist.

Many said they would not attempt to go any further until the roads were completely cleared. Others were anxious to get back to their vehicles to make another go for their destinations.

Of course the truck stops along I-30 had the biggest number of everything, trucks and people.

Exit 44 Truck Stop reported that its parking lot was full and trucks were pared on both sides of U.S. 371 and on the Split Rail parking lot across the street. The parking lot at Exit 44 holds approximately 130 trucks, according to owners and Randy and Pat Grimes. Their parking lot was "overflowing" to say the least.

Les Bartlett, owner of Norman's 44 Restaurant, also off I-30 at exit 44, reported he has around 200 truck parking spaces and all of them were taken Thursday night and Friday.

He said he had six employees who did not show up for work due to the snow and other employees and himself had to fill in for them. However, he said he also rented two rooms at Econo Lodge as a matter of convenience for his employees so they would not have to go home.

He said he was fortunate in one way. A former cook at Norman's was one of the stranded motorist. He put on an apron and began operating the grill and washing dishes for Bartlett.

Rose Sisk, night manager at Love's Country Store at Ron Harrod and Highway 19 North at exit 46 near I-30, said Love's parking lot was also full.

She said the storm had slowed its fuel business, because traffic was not moving as it should. Trucks sitting idle don't use as much fuel as going down the Interstate. Sisk said business inside the store and Hardee's was good, but most of Love's revenues comes from fuel sales.

Sisk said she had around 30 employees who could not report for work at Hardee's and around 15 for the convenience store and truck stop. She said around 200 people were inside the store and Hardee's.

Across the Interstate at Phillips Best Stop, Mary Jo Hendrix, one of the managers, said approximately 100 trucks were using Phillips parking lot.

She reported fuel use was extremely high Friday. In addition Hendrix said the store's snack bar was doing an extremely good business.

The telephone to Fuel Express across Highway 19 from Phillips was not answered Friday. It was reported that Fuel Express closed Thursday afternoon due to the inclement weather. However, the large parking lot at Fuel Express was full as the other parking lots were.

Anna Roberts, owner of A&E Road Mart, across Highway 19 from Love's, said her business was very brisk Friday from automobiles stopping at her convenience store. Her facilities does not cater to 18-wheelers.

She said there were at least 15 tractor-trailer rigs parked along Highway 19 and that many or more were parked along Ron Harrod Drive. She said some rigs were in the ditch along Ron Harrod.

Due to inclement weather Thursday, A&E closed at 6:00 p.m. instead of the normal 8:00.

Interstate 30 was completely blocked between Prescott and Arkadelphia Thursday night, causing most of the trouble.

Sgt. First Class Carlton Hubbard of the Arkansas National Guard in Prescott said he did not know for sure where the trouble was, but it was somewhere in Clark County. It was reported Thursday evening on TV that most of the trouble in Clark County was at exit 73, the main exit for Arkadelphia. Many trucks at this point were sliding in ditches or jack-knifing, which could have caused traffic to back up to mile marker 48 in Nevada County. Many of the stranded motorists were found around the 48- to 52-mile marker on I-30, Sgt. H