Winter is well on its way to the Idaho panhandle, and the snowcapped mountains are a friendly reminder for valley-dwellers to prepare themselves for the season.

Homeowners are busy tending to any last minute repairs and filling up the wood shed, while car owners are changing tires, swapping out batteries and topping off with antifreeze.

Workers with the Streets and Parks Department of Bonners Ferry are undergoing similar preparations to ensure that they are ready for the worst weather Jack Frost can muster.

According to statistics published by the Federal Highway Administration, in an average year, “approximately 22 percent of all car crashes are weather related.” Slick roads and poor visibility are a dangerous combination, one that is all too common on the windy roads of Boundary County.

The FHA’s statistics also reveal how much a snowstorm can inhibit the flow of traffic: “On major highways, light snow can reduce average speed by 3-13 percent. In heavy snow, average highway speeds can decline by up to 40 percent.”

While its the responsibility of each driver to operate his or her own vehicle safely, it is up to the local Streets and Parks Department’s to mitigate the effects of weather on local roads. Without adequate snow and ice removal, the figures cited above would swell dramatically.

According to Street Superintendent John Youngworth, the department is focusing on “tidying up last minute, putting gravel down on roads, and getting snow removal equipment ready...doing minor repairs, oil changes, that sort of thing. Other than that, if the weather holds, we will start gathering rock this week.”

The gravel Youngworth is referring to is stored in different locations throughout the county, where it can be accessed conveniently by the city’s trucks when the white stuff really starts to fall.

The department is made up of Youngworth and four other employees.

When asked about any ongoing projects, Youngworth mentioned the project on Augusta Street and how important it is to get that wrapped up before any major storms set in. “Fortunately”, he says, “that’s just about done right now.” While a lot of people around the county are busy studying long-term forecasts in order to gauge just how nasty this winter might get, Youngworth says he doesn’t put a whole lot of stock in those. While he is constantly checking a number of different weather stations, and he certainly doesn’t ignore the three-month outlooks released by NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmposheric Association), he doesn’t try to make any predictions as to how much snow we will get this winter. “I’ll tell you that in April,” he says.

Questions or concerns regarding snow removal operations can be directed to John Youngworth at 267-4383 or 267-3105.