KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics in Kansas, Missouri and at the local level. Share your story idea with Charlie.
—
Forecasters predict Harrisonville, Missouri, could receive several inches of snow over the weekend, which means all hands are on deck to clear the streets.
“Doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of the night or middle of the day, we’ll come out and work in shifts,” said Daniel Barnett of the City of Harrisonville. “It’s kind of a group effort in small communities like this. Public works will get involved, parks will get involved, we’ll all come together to work through it until the job is done.”
Rural communities have fewer roads to clear — 120 lanes miles in Harrisonville compared to 6,000 in Kansas City — but they also have fewer drivers and trucks.
Barnett said about five drivers will be working in shifts throughout the storm.
“They do a pretty good job,” Milton Siegenthaler said. “And then those of us in the community that have the capability, we’ll touch up the rest.”
Siegenthaler plans to put a plow on his all-terrain vehicle (four-wheeler) this weekend and clear driveways in his neighborhood.
Christy Maggi, the city manager of Clinton, Missouri, said her crews don’t work around the clock.
They will most likely take a break overnight Saturday into Sunday. This is different than larger cities like Kansas City which have crews working 24 hours a day.
For all the differences, rural and urban cities do a lot the same way. Both prioritize busiest streets first and set aside areas of their budgets for overtime pay, equipment maintenance and salt.
—
