No closings reported, officials urge caution on bridges
by Jeremy Stewart, Staff Writer
Jan 18, 2013 | 6302 views | 3 3 comments | 8 8 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Update:EMA Director Scotty Hancock said the roads in Rome and Floyd County look good this morning. Floyd County Schools will be open as usual. Rome City Schools are expected to be open as well. No closings have been reported. Hancock urged caution on bridges, but said many of them were salted overnight.Shorter University, Darlington School, all campuses of Georgia Northwestern Technical College and Georgia Highlands College have confirmed they are open.

Previously posted:If the weather forecasts and the warnings didn’t convince people of the chance of snow and black ice, the parking lot at Kroger may have done the job.

Shoppers were out in force Thursday afternoon as the temperature dropped and Floyd County was in a winter storm warning, which was predicted to last until 10 a.m. today.

While more rain moved into the area Thursday, dropping another .73 inches on Rome following the rains earlier this week, a cold air mass was set to collide with the system and mix in some snow for parts of Northwest Georgia.

Floyd County 911 reported no problems with ice on roads prior to press time, and county and city schools were set to make a decision about canceling classes sometime this morning.

Gordon County Schools and Calhoun City Schools announced Thursday night that they would be closed today as a precaution because of predictions of black ice on the roadways. Twelve-month employees should report as conditions allow.

Kroger in Riverbend Center on Turner McCall Boulevard still had plenty of milk and bread as of 4 p.m. Thursday.

Penney Mitchell was one of the many customers grabbing last-minute items in advance of the wintry weather. “We heard the snow word,” she said when asked why she came out to the store. “Once we heard the ‘S’ word I hopped in the car.”

Mitchell said she has followed the forecasts and picked up the essentials whenever something like this comes up, mainly milk, bread and eggs.

“I think all of the children are praying for snow so they don’t have to go to school,” Mitchell said. “I have grandchildren who might come over since their parents go to work so I’m prepared with snacks and plenty of hot chocolate.”

John Siniard and his wife, Farica Siniard, were at Kroger with their son Hunter for a more logical reason than the weather — they needed to get food.

John Siniard said he wasn’t expecting anything momentous to happen.

“I used to live in Ellijay, and every time they said something was going to happen it never did,” he said. “So I don’t think anything is going to happen.”

The forecast from the National Weather Service calls for sunny skies today and through the weekend with highs in the low to mid 50s and mostly clear at night with lows in the upper 20s and low 30s.
Comments
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TheSeer
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January 18, 2013
Thank goodness we have school and emergency officials in Rome and Floyd County who act on facts and use common sense instead of taking the Chicken Little approach used in other places. There is no reason for schools to close today and force students and teachers to make up the day later.
Prossarian
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January 18, 2013
I highly suggest to the Floyd County Board of Education that you put very simple messages concerning school closures on Facebook. Obviously the drama kings and queens of Floyd County can't understand complex statements and like to stir the pot on Facebook. If the people posting on Facebook are representative of the parents in this county, God save this county. Adults should be seriously ashamed of themselves for acting that way.
snapshots
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January 18, 2013
Couldn't agree more. Is is so difficult to make arrangements just "in case"? People have been doing it for years as their responsibility as parents. They must forget that schools are not day care facilities.
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