By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

With temperatures predicted to plunge early next week, the city of Hays is reminding residents about the Emergency Snow Routes and Operational Plan.

“If the city manager declares a snow emergency, we ask you to get your vehicles off the emergency snow routes. It makes snow removal difficult trying to drive around them,” said Public Works Director I. D. Creech.

If you are out driving, make sure your vehicle is capable of moving around when the snow falls. Try not to become a traffic impediment because you get stuck someplace. Stay on the emergency snow routes as much as possible.

“Our crews will be out there as quickly as we think we can make a difference, providing some kind of successful snow removal. If the snow continues, we have a hard time keeping up.

We will also pretreat (the streets) when necessary, which is our first form of defense against the snow.

Then we’ll shove the snow out of the way on the main routes.  The secondary routes we’ll hit as we can  and then we have some auxiliary routes.

“Do not expect us in the residential areas.  We have no place to push the snow , we have no place to pile the snow (in  residential areas), so it makes it very difficult to move around parked vehicles.

Creech said complete information is in the newsletter included with the November utilities billing statement.