Washington County pounded by snow again
WEST BEND -- Digging out yet again! The northwest part of our viewing area was blasted with snow for the second time in a week. While mother nature caused fury among some residents in Washington County others welcomed the white stuff.
West Bend residents have been pounded once again. “It came too soon,” said Edward Philippi. Philippi sure got his exercise as he cleared his driveway early Saturday morning. His trick for keeping it clear…shoveling multiple times a day. “Just keep at it. In other words, don’t let it get ahead of me,” Philippi said.
Neighbor Arlyn Schmitt added, “We didn’t think it was going to snow quite as much.” Schmitt said he got about 3 inches of snow at his home. It may not seem like much compared to last week’s blizzard, but cleaning it is just as much of a nuisance. “I have a health problem so I can’t even use my own snow blower,” Schmitt added.
So he enlisted the help of kind neighbors. At just 10 and 12 years old, Grant and Jared Peterson may be little, but they’re getting a big job done. Jared said, “We’ve been helping out Arlyn for about 3 years. They all do it too and usually dad comes over and snow blows for him.” The dad, David said he uses the storms as a chance to give back, “We’ve got a large family, so I send the crews out to help the neighbors.”
Schmitt who has lived there for 46 years said normally people hole up in the winter time, so Saturday was a chance to have camaraderie and neighborly interaction.“ It makes you feel pretty nice that you have neighbors like that and some people have neighbors they just don’t talk to,” added Schmitt.
While the rest of the community digs out, these kids planned to make the most the snowy day in every way. Grant said, “I look forward to snow. We like skiing in it and just playing in it, making forts and snowmen and shoveling too.”
The snow didn’t seem to cause too many issues in West Bend. The city had the roads cleaned fairly early and the Sheriff’s Office said there were no major accidents or distress calls reported.