Just a week after the last snowstorm, Keene State College campus was once again covered with snow. On Monday, Feb. 2 the college closed at 2 p.m. after being open all morning.
It was published on the KSC website Monday morning that the college would be open regular hours and for students to check the cancellation page for any classes canceled by their professors.
However, the weather continued to turn severe and the website’s message changed to, “Keene State College will close today, February 2 at 2 p.m. due to inclement weather. All classes starting at 2pm and after are canceled today…”
Even though campus wasn’t closed until late afternoon, there was a part of the campus that started working on the storm at five in the morning.
KSC grounds crew started clean up before activity on campus arrived, according to Assistant Director of Physical Plant/Grounds Bud Winsor.
“We knew there was a storm coming,” he said as he explained that grounds crew has a weather service, Precision Weather Forecasting, which will call if a storm is coming. In addition, he said KSC grounds is constantly monitoring the radar.
When they suspect a storm, the night before he said he talks to his crew and they plan to come in early the day of the storm. In addition to his main crew, he said students help shovel on these snow days.
Winsor said it is difficult to clean up when there is activity on campus, such as cars and pedestrians, so they get much more accomplished when they start early, such as 3 a.m.
And that’s exactly what they did.
Tuesday, Feb. 3, Winsor and his 11 crew members were back out on campus at 3 a.m. finishing up trying to make it the most accessible as they can. He said during the storm it was a little messy.
Since campus wasn’t closed until 2 p.m. there were people trying to get around, so he said his crew got a better clean up done the following day.
When it comes to deciding whether or not campus is safe enough during a snowstorm, Winsor helps advise administration, even though the overall decision is decided within the school system.
“I do call the vice president and let him know the weather conditions and put my input in terms of what we [grounds crew] are capable of doing,” Winsor said.
Also, KSC doesn’t just rely on campus resources. Winsor said they work with the City of Keene as well. He said when snow is removed it is brought down lower Main St.
He continued, “The city allows us to keep treated salt that we purchase in their storage facility at that same location on lower Main [St.].” The city and the college work together on the crosswalks he said.
“It’s more coordinated than it seems,” Winsor said, as he explained by 8 a.m. Tuesday morning campus had full access.
Bethany Ricciardi can be contacted at bricciardi@keene-equinox.com
