The city’s efforts to plow through the recent winter storm, which dumped inches of snow on the region,
garnered attention during Tuesday’s Bowling Green City Council meeting.
“It was amazing that we finally got a winter storm,” said resident Nathan Eberly, who rose to praise the
city’s work over the weekend, “but the city workers did a great job … seemed to be well done through the
duration of the storm.”
The city issued a snow emergency Saturday morning as a result of the snow. A snow emergency in the city
means vehicles must be moved from the streets.
Assistant Municipal Administrator Joe Fawcett said they had been tracking the storm all week. Fawcett,
Police Chief Tony Hetrick and Public Works Director Brian Craft met earlier last week to plan. Fawcett
said that planning helped get the city through the event.
Fawcett said the city decided to declare the snow emergency around 9 a.m. on Saturday, shortly before the
snow had accumulated 2 inches, the usual threshold for a snow emergency in the city, due to the forecast
of more snow to come.
“I think that turned out to be wise,” he said.
With plows working on the major routes in the city, Fawcett said that residents were given until 3 p.m.
to move their cars off of other snow streets.
“Ultimately, the police division had to tow six vehicles and issue 20 parking tickets to people who had
their cars remaining on snow streets,” he said.
Fawcett said that number was fair, compared to the winter of 2013-14.
“Six is pretty good. I think the residents did a very good job of reacting when the snow emergency was
declared,” he said.
Fawcett said that while he was driving in the city, he saw a number of vehicles that had ended up in
snowbanks or were otherwise immobile. The police had 19 assists for immobile vehicles due to the storm.

“We’ve heard many comments similar to (Eberly’s) from citizens throughout the community about the good
work of the public works division, Brian Craft,” said Mayor Richard Edwards. “Of course, he was working
‘round the clock with Chief Hetrick and Joe Fawcett. I was getting reports around the clock.
“(I) was really, really pleased with what they did, those 12-hour shifts.”
Edwards also said he heard from Fire Chief Bill Moorman that personnel were kept busy because
“unfortunately, sadly, people were falling and getting into accidents because of the snow and the ice
and the wind.”
Craft said that the assistance that public works received from the police division “was huge this
weekend” and he further offered thanks to the citizens for their parking compliance, and for their tax
dollars, which allow the department to have the equipment they need.
Craft said some of the public works trucks are over 20 years old and “that’s a testament to our guys for
keeping them in shape.”
Councilman Bruce Jeffers asked Fawcett if there is any coordination between the county and the city in
declaring a snow emergency. Wood County did not declare a snow emergency during the storm.
Fawcett said that while the city and county snow emergencies share a similar term, they are different. In
the city, he said, the focus is on parking restrictions from a standpoint of safety and to aid in the
plowing of city streets.