Snowy C.O. roads prompt school delays, closures

Snow and slush cover the roads in La Pine as the town was hammered with several inches of snow on top of a foot or more from earlier storms.

Bend-La Pine Schools canceled Thursday classes as road conditions were treacherous in some areas especially to the south

“In La Pine, we had about 18 inches of snow on the ground before the received about 10 inches over night, here in Bend we saw about four inches, and in Sunriver we had more accumulations,” spokeswoman Julianne Repman said.

The district sent out a mass text to parents letting them know school was canceled for the day.

Bus driver were sent out Wednesday morning to check on road conditions but were turned back because of slick roads.

The district says they take extras steps to make sure roads are safe for students and staff.

Some students also saw delays for up to hour as snow plows tried to clear the roads.

“No, a lot of roads are not plowed, and if they are plowed, its so slushy that buses are still sliding, It’s kind of scary,” Lindsay Vandehey said.

Drivers are using caution as road conditions continues to worsen over night.

“I can’t believe how bad Highway 97 was coming up to La Pine today — it was bad if not worse than the cut off roads,” Heidi Mitzler said.

School officials are monitoring road condition over night to see what is to come Friday. We’ll have updates online and on NewsChannel 21 at Sunrise.

The new round of snow and slick roads prompted numerous school closures and delays Thursday morning across the High Desert. Here’s our final list:

CLOSURES::
-Bend-La Pine Schools
-Jefferson County 509-J School District
-St. Francis School
-Three Sisters Adventist School
-Trinity Lutheran School
-Waldorf School
-Eastmont School
-Seven Peaks School
-Cascades Academy
-Morning Star Christian School
-Brothers School
-Paulina School
-NeighborImpact Head Start Bend-La Pine all day (morning classes Redmond-Prineville)
-Madras Children’s Center Preschool (but will have day care)
-Boys & Girls Clubs of Bend (no after-school programs)
-Jefferson County Kids Club
-Deschutes River Montessori School
-La Pine Senior Center
-St. Charles Hospice ‘Light Up a Life’ ceremony in Madras (will be rescheduled to later date)

CLASSES/OPERATIONS DELAYED (2 hours):
-COCC-OSU-Cascades (classes before 10 a.m. canceled, campuses open at 9:30 a.m.)
-Sisters School District
-Redmond School District
-Crook County School District
-Culver School District
-Powell Butte Community School
-St. Thomas Academy
-Sisters Christian Academy
-Mosaic Medical clinics opening at 10 a.m.

Updates/changes? E-mail stories@ktvz.com.

The slick roads also caused familiar issues in places like Highway 97 over Lava Butte south of Bend, where Oregon State Police reported several crashes during the Thursday morning commute.

The snow had turned over to light rain before sunrise over much of the region, with temperatures right at freezing at 6 a.m. at the Bend and Madras airports, 35 at Prineville’s and 35 at Redmond Airport.

Some places reported little snow, while eight inches fell in Sisters and at least seven in La Pine, viewers reported.

At the resorts, Hoodoo, which opens on Friday, reported 10 inches new snow Thursday and 11 inches at Mt. Bachelor, where the base has reached 77 inches..

The snowy start to winter (which doesn’t officially arrive until at 8:48 p.m. on Monday) has had one big positive effect, along with good times for skiers and boarders.. For the first time in a while, it’s pushed the Central Oregon snowpack above average (check the Upper Deschutes/Crooked River readings at
http://wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov/reports/UpdateReport.html?report=Oregon