Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

District To Make Up Days

Students in the Gurdon school system enjoyed getting a winter's break because of the snow.

However, as nothing in this life is free, they will be paying later for the break received because of the inclement weather.

Gurdon Superintendent Bobby Smithson said students have four days to make up because of time lost due to the snow.

The district, he said, has one winter day left. But, to help make up the other three days, he continued, students will have to attend school on Good Friday, and one day the teachers were supposed to meet without students will be canceled.

The fourth day will be added on at the end of the year, he said, adding the make up days will have to be first approved by the Gurdon School Board.

Gurdon High School and Gurdon Primary School both suffered minor damage because of the snow, Smithson said.

Heater vents at GPS were damaged, and a canopy between the primary school and kindergarten collapsed from the weight of the snow.

Gutters at GHS couldn't handle the snow's weight and were pulled away from the wall.

But, he said, the district is insured for the damage and the repairs have been made.

And, he continued, two basketball games have to be rescheduled because of the weather. Both of these games are against conference opponents and must be played or forfeited.

These games, he said, are important as the conference record is used for seeding purposed in the district tournament.

Smithson said there were three bus routes made impassible by the snow, with the worst being the Kansas Loop around Whelen Springs.

Another bad area was Red Springs Road where the pavement ends and on to Vaden. Getting to Okolona was no picnic either.

By Wednesday, Feb. 2, he said, most of the students were able to get to school in some manner, even though some routes had two buses running.

"I'm glad to be back and get away with minimal damage," Smithson said.

Clark County Judge Floyd "Buddy" Manning said the weather needs to be 75 degrees with rain to get rid of the snow.

Seven county graders, a couple of backhoes and front end loaders were in operation the weekend of Jan. 29-30, working to clear the roads for residents.

Manning hasn't had time to analyze what the record-setting snowstorm cost Clark County, as county road crews were still busy during the middle of last week trying to get all of the roads clear.

During the storm, Manning spent most of his time at the command center, Jim Burns' Texaco station on Highway 8 by Interstate 30. Burns is the county's Office of Emergency Services director.

All who could worked to shuttle stranded motorists from I-30 to one of the four shelters set up in the county.

"We worked all night," he said. "This is the biggest snowstorm I've ever seen in my lifetime."

The county worked with the Arkansas State Transportation and Highway Department to clear roads for emergency access during the worst of the storm.

Manning said at least 10 barns and 10 chicken houses were destroyed in the county because of the snow.

On Thursday, Feb. 3, Gurdon's Street Department employees were still on the job clearing snow from the streets.

They cleared the median of Main Street of a mound of snow in the middle of the road, and knocked down a small mountain of the white stuff on Second Street.

This helped get the snow melted and off the roads.

Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith said it will be a while before the extent of the damage caused by the snow is known.

He said there will be some damage to the city's streets, but how much and where is a wait and see proposition.

Much of the damage, he continued, won't show until the Spring thaw arrives.

"All in all," he said, "I think we fared well. Gurdon, due to the nature of business and the community, is a logging area and a lot of people own four-wheel drive vehicles and chainsaws.

"We do well in situations like this. We were pretty much on our own, getting little outside help except from the Salvation Army and American Red Cross. But we were able to help others with transportation to and from the shelters." Two were set up in Gurdon, at the First United Methodist Church and Beech Street Baptist Church.

Fortunately, he said, the city never lost power and didn't experience the problems losing electrical power causes.

"It wasn't like an ice storm would've been," he said.

"I'm glad it's over," said Clark County Sheriff Troy Tucker. "It was a deal and we're still at it."

He said Clark County Sheriff's Office deputies worked a lot of extra hours during the snowstorm, but everything worked out all right.

Tucker estimated some 320 people were taken to the four shelters in the county, and thanked the Gurdon Police Department for its help during the storm.

"We were lucky," he said. "Except for the inconvenience, traffic problems and awnings being down."

Snow remained on the ground Monday, Feb. 7, in places the sun didn't shine. However, there was no snow on city streets, I-30 or state highways.