As of last night, Starke County Highway Department snow plow drivers had worked 24 of the past 36 hours clearing ice and snow from roads. Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler shared that information with the county commissioners during their meeting last night. Commissioner Kathy Norem praised their efforts and noted the county roads are in better shape than state roads 8, 23 and U.S. 35.
Even with the foot of snow dumped on Starke County by the weekend blizzard, Ritzler notes the winter has proven to be considerably less challenging than last year. In 2014 the Starke County Highway Department plowed 30 of 31 days in January, compared to only 12 of 31 this year and used three times as much salt and sand.
