HEREFORD, Md. — It reads like a Dr. Seuss book.
You have big shovels, you have medium shovels and, yes, you have little shovels all over clearing snow, sleet and ice in Northern Baltimore County.
Word from the State Highway Administration’s salt dome in Hereford suggests Mother Nature has given drivers the toughest kind of assignment.
“It’s ice, ice, all ice. Can’t keep up with it. It’s coming down so heavy, but stay off the roads,” said Jerry Hersl, a snow plow driver for the state, “We’re salting as fast as we can, and we can’t keep up with it.”
Roads like Interstate 83---the Baltimore/Harrisburg Expressway, which became a slow-moving, slush-filled route despite the plows’ and salt trucks’ best efforts, and smaller roads had even bigger problems.
“The roads are rough on Big Falls,” said Dwayne Hairston, “I don’t even think a snowplow came through yet, but the car is making it and all I have to do is go back. If I make it back safe I’m alright.”
“I did take a different route, Pharmacist Randy Chiat told us, “I didn’t take a big hill that I typically take so I took an emergency road, and I just went slow.”
Their common destination?
The Hereford Shopping Center where Don Marvel worked to help clear the lot one shovel at a time for the umpteenth time this winter.
“Since it started snowing this year, it’s been every week we’ve had to move snow,” said Marvel.
“How much do you have in front of you today?” we asked.
“I’ve got 22 driveways after this parking lot so we’ll be about 10 or 11 o’clock tonight finishing up,” he replied.
