Jefferson Co. schools closed again, Culver on 2-hour delay

While much of the High Desert has emerged from a deep freeze, not so in the Madras area, where freezing fog has lingered and temperatures have not climbed above freezing. Due to slick roads, Jefferson County canceled classes for a second day Thursday, while Culver schools were on a two-hour delay.

Unlike the early Wednesday freezing rain, when numerous districts canceled or delayed classes, they were the only ones on the High Desert to make those calls Thursday.

The Oregon Child Development Coalition in Madras also was on a two-hour delay. The Madras TCLC (The Children’s Learning Center) had no morning classes for Head Start/preschool.

Send other closures or info to us at stories@ktvz.com.

Roads north of the High Desert remain slick; ODOT reported two crashes involving semis blocked the highway Thursday morning, one eight miles north of Moro (where a lane reopened by 8 a.m. and another just north of Shaniko.

It was more of a splash now than a jackhammer of a ride down Bend’s main roads on Wednesday, as warming weather melted built-up ice and allowed crews to remove more slush.

The side streets, however, were still a different story.

“Fourteen inches of snow in a short time frame — it’s tough to keep up with,” Bend Roads and Operations Supervisor David Abbas said Wednesday. “It’s all hands on deck. We’re using all our resources right now.”

ODOT crews were also working around the clock to clear the slush off highways.

“It seems like the worst of it is over,” spokesman Peter Murphy said. “But you know, it’s going to get cold again, so we’re trying to get as much off the highway as possible” before it can refreeze.

Although the snow is no longer piling up, the grumbles keep mounting. Over the last week, NewsChannel 21 has received thousands of comments from disgruntled drivers and residents.

Public Works told us phones have been ringing off the hook. It’s been so bad the city held a live Facebook chat on the topic Tuesday.

“There’s been questions of the level of service, and the safety on the roads. We want to improve that as well, we’re always looking for improvement there — this was a tough storm,” Abbas said.

Bend has 19 pieces of equipment for snow removal and winter treatments. In snowstorms, crews work 24-hour shifts and add crews from four contracted companies when six inches of snow accumulates on the ground.

For all of this, the city allots about $1.2 million a year. Abbas said it’s a budget that has not kept up with Bend’s expansion.

“We have 840 lane miles in town — the lane miles has grown 30-plus percent,” Abbas said. When two new schools get built — every time a new subdivision is built — that’s more public streets to maintain.”

Abbas said with the growth and growing population, Bend is reaching a crucial tipping point where the city and residents must discuss whether more services — and more money for snow removal — is needed.

“We’ll sit down with city management and council and really take a hard look at our snow and ice removal plan, and really determine the level of service the community wants,” Abbas said.

KTVZ asked Abbas if the city’s possible proposal to add a gas tax for road maintenance would help the department tackle snow in the winter.

“No — by state law, a fuel tax really needs to go to street maintenance. It’s more for the conditions of the pavement,” Abbas said.

If the city doesn’t use the $1.2 million in the winter, it doesn’t save that money for the next season. Instead, it takes that money and uses it for regular road repairs that are desperately needed.

NewsChannel 21 has previously reported the city has about $80 million in backlogged street maintenance.

With plenty of winter ahead, the discussions surrounding road maintenance are far from over, but at least the season’s first battle is finally turning a corner.

Public Works plans on addressing snow and ice removal at the city council meeting Wednesday night. For an update, tune into NewsChannel 21 at 10 on Fox.