First snowfall keeps students busy before finals

Students heaved snowballs in battles between dorms and turned lunch trays into sleds after 3.5 inches of snow blanketed Bloomington's trees, hills and streets for the first time this year early Sunday.\nBy Saturday night, nearly half an inch covered the streets, leading cars to slip, slide and smack bumpers. A low of 23 degrees didn't help matters.\nBy Sunday morning the Weather Channel was reporting 3.5 inches of snow in Bloomington.\nIndiana State Trooper Ryan Miller said several accidents were caused by people driving too fast for the conditions and slick roadways.\n"The snow does not cause the accidents but people driving too fast for the conditions are the ones that cause the accidents," Miller said.\nBloomington is no stranger to cold weather and snowy conditions, receiving an annual snowfall of more than 40 inches. In 2002 the city had 24 trucks to dump salt and sand on the streets of Bloomington.\nThe job of removing snow can also be overwhelming for Bloomington. Overall, city snowplow operators drive more than 2,100 miles in a snow emergency -- which is the same as the distance from Bloomington to Mexico.\nMatt Stuebe, owner of Outdoor Improvements of Bloomington, not only does landscaping work but snow removal as well during the winter months. The company works with clients, mainly businesses, which have contracts with the company prior to the season, but will take on new clients if they are called.\nIn preparation for the winter season, Stuebe said Outdoor Improvements has to make sure both the salt spreader trucks are serviced and other arrangements are up to par. The company prepares for the winter weather and then waits to use their equipment.\nResidential Programs and Services Director of Facilities Larry Isom said RPS custodians clear walkways around residence halls and class buildings. The University physical plant clears walkways the rest of the way, but on the weekends they have a skeleton crew. \nIsom said it is very difficult for RPS to clear parking lots when many of them are full of cars. During the break, employees clean out leaves and debris from the parking lots. \n"We'll contact all the resident halls and set up a program where, during a certain time, the students move their cars so we can get in there," Isom said. "Most of the students cooperate and it really works well."\nIsom says his advice to students during the snow is to be patient and wait for equipment to get out. \n"But (RPS and physical plant workers) were out early this morning and doing a great job," Isom said.\nThe average predicted temperature for finals week according to the Weather Channel Web site is 41 degrees with only one day of the week being predicted as having a rain and snow mix. \n-- Contact staff writer Michael Malik at mjmalik@indiana.edu.