Finding ways to excel: the winter stormfighter’s responsibility Elizabeth Treadway, PWLF APWA President
ith this month’s Reporter being devoted to winter maintenance it is a great opportunity to start thinking about winter storm event planning and training. Through all of the wonderful advancements in technology that have been brought to the market, a new lifestyle has been born. Many people are multitasking at work, home and in the car producing an environment in which the traveling public’s behavior is more dangerous and they are less patient than ever. The changing attitude requires us to provide a higher level of service at a faster pace and with greater efficiency. The demand for our services in fighting the events from winter weather is similar to our response to a major community disaster. We have learned over time that emergency disaster response planning can play a crucial role in the underlying factor of whether an agency fails or succeeds during devastating events. With countless areas across the U.S. and Canada experiencing conditions that have had continuous years of wet and stormy weather, many agencies have been faced with making substantial changes to their operational overviews in emergency management planning. With the exciting news of APWA’s North American Snow Conference taking place in Charlotte, N.C. next year, the opportunity couldn’t 2 APWA Reporter
November 2012
be better for expanding the focus above and beyond snow. Charlotte will provide an outstanding canvas to paint the perfect portrait of a region that is very susceptible to a full range of weather environments that center around emergency management response planning. With North Carolina sitting halfway down the Atlantic Coast, between Virginia and South Carolina, it falls directly within a subtropical zone that makes it vulnerable to powerful hurricanes, devastating tornadoes, crippling nor’easters and sweltering drought. Although only known for receiving an average of six inches of snowfall per year, the area can easily see 45 inches of rainfall on a yearly basis. Winter months often provide a hazardous environment for motorists when freezing temperatures accompanied by rain showers turn road surfaces into high-speed sheets of ice. The region is also no stranger to seeing the effects of nor’easters; one in particular known as “The Storm of the Century” was a legendary snow event for the area. This massive storm dumped four feet of snow on the region with hurricane-force winds stacking up drifts measuring as high as 14 feet, crippling communities for days. With the state and local agencies having extensive experience with disaster management on multiple levels, the Charlotte setting for the 2013 Snow Conference will give participants the opportunity to interact with individuals that have acquired a
Official Magazine of the American Public Works Association PUBLISHER American Public Works Association 2345 Grand Blvd., Suite #700 Kansas City, MO 64108-2625 (800) 848-APWA (Member Services Hotline) (816) 472-6100 (Kansas City metro area) FAX (816) 595-5330 e-mail: reporter@apwa.net Website: www.apwa.net EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Peter B. King EDITOR R. Kevin Clark GRAPHIC DESIGNER Abbey Russell ADVERTISING SALES Kristen Creel R. Kevin Clark Amanda Daniel Kansas City Liaison (800) 800-0341 (816) 595-5230 APWA WASHINGTON OFFICE 1275 K Street NW, Suite 750 Washington, D.C. 20005-4083 (202) 408-9541 FAX (202) 408-9542 Disclaimer: The American Public Works Association assumes no responsibility for statements and/or opinions advanced by either editorial or advertising contributors to this issue. APWA reserves the right to refuse to publish and to edit manuscripts to conform to the APWA Reporter standards. Publisher’s Notice: The APWA Reporter, November 2012, Vol. 79, No. 11 (ISSN 0092-4873; Publications Agreement No. 41450540). The APWA Reporter is published monthly by the American Public Works Association, 2345 Grand Boulevard, Suite 700, Kansas City, MO 64108-2625. Subscription rate is $174 for nonmembers and $25 for chaptersponsored students. Periodicals postage paid at Kansas City, MO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the APWA Reporter, 2345 Grand Boulevard, #700, Kansas City, MO 64108-2625. Canada returns to: P.O. Box 2600, Mississauga, ON L4T 0A8. Reprints and Permissions: Information is available at www.apwa.net/Publications/Reporter/guidelines. asp. © 2012 by American Public Works Association Address Change? To alert us of a change to your membership record, contact an APWA Membership Specialist at (800) 848-APWA or membership@apwa.net. The APWA Reporter is printed by Royle Printing, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
