Icy conditions shut down some city services

Frozen equipment puts trash collection on hold for West Memphis Sanitation

By Ralph Hardin

ralphhardin@gmail.com

There was a little bit of a thaw yesterday as the sun made a brief appearance over Crittenden County and temperatures “soared” to the mid-30s for a couple of hours, but the sunshine did little to rid the area of ice on the ground after three days of frozen precipitation.

Schools remained closed for a third day as local businesses struggled to staff workers. In the City of West Memphis, services like trash collection had to be put on hold.

“Due to the inclement weather and road conditions, sanitation crews are unable to operate with frozen equipment and the icy conditions,” said city communications specialist Nick Coulter. “Sanitation crews will continue working along side the Public Works department to ensure the streets and overpasses are maintained for your safety.”

With many city streets still largely impassible, crews were focused on clearing ice and putting down sand at key intersections.

“We apologize for the schedule disruptions, our crews will run extended hours and weekends to ‘catch up’ as needed when it is safe to operate their vehicles and complete their

See ICE, page A3

Photo by Ralph Hardin ICE

From page A1

routes as scheduled,” said Coulter. “Please be patient as we continue to experience these extreme weather conditions.”

To avoid a missed collection, weather permitting, the Public Works Department urges customers to roll their carts to the curb for pickup if possible.

“Please ensure garbage containers are upright and spaced,” Coulter asked, “and please continue to be patient as sanitation crews work with frozen equipment and icy conditions.”

High temperatures today are expected to only reach 34 degrees before getting back into the mid-40s on Saturday.