Brockport commends its snow removal warriors

When the phone rang Thursday, February 13, at 3:40 a.m., Brockport Village Trustee Norman Knapp answered, got dressed and rode along with the department of public works team as they plowed, salted and cleared the roadways. Making the roads safe, and passable, for morning commuters is a task not to be taken lightly, Knapp said at the village board meeting.

"It was a rewarding experience to be out there with the DPW team, watching the way they work together to make sure the roads and sidewalks are cleared," Knapp said of his middle of the night ride-along. "There's quite a system in place when it comes to clearing out all of this snow."

Knapp said he invited the public works crew to call him so he could experience, first hand, what they go through when the snow falls. "Those guys have a big job out there."

In addition to the early morning snow removal, Knapp said, once that task is complete the crews then go back to their normal daily activities. "It's all in a day's work for them," he said.

Mayor Josephine Matela commended DPW Superintendent Brad Upson and his crew for their role in keeping the village streets passable during the recent snowfalls. "It's miraculous how you move all of that snow around," she said.

Matela also gave thanks to the fire, ambulance and police departments for their prompt response to calls even during the recent spates of inclement weather.

In other matters from the February 18 meeting: Assistant Fire Chief Mark Warner said the fire and ambulance crews had responded to 128 fire and 223 ambulance calls so far this year.