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ie Late winter storm blankets Scugog Continued from page 46 are quick to be critical of snow plow opera- tors and are often impatient and inconsider- ate, not realizing the men behind the wheel often work 12 to 24 hours without rest to service their customers. Little things like parking a car in front of a snow plow operator before they’ve had a chance to finish clearing a lot, leaving newspapers and garbage cans in the drive- way can slow the process down consider- ably. On this particular morning at two lo- cations, Bill had to get out of his truck to pick up newspapers and walk them up to the house, before continuing with the plow- ing. “Most people are very good, but there are a few that give us (snow plow opera- tors) little respect or consideration,” Bill says. The Van Camps have 77 customers, many who they’ve been serving for more than 40 years, and Bill speaks very highly of them. “Most of our customers are very patient and considerate. We get very few calls won- dering when we will get to them,” he said, and recalls one year getting only two hours sleep over a 48 hour period during a bad storm, but his customers were understand- ing. This past winter has been one of the worst in many years and Bill keeps statis- tics about this and other winters. He says that during an average winter, he and his crew would plow and/or sand each customer roughly 15 times, but this year they are already up to 24 plows and the winter isn’t over yet. The Van Camps have six trucks ready to go at any time. Four are always in use, with the other two sitting ready as a backup in case of a breakdown. To keep all this equipment on the road is expensive and Bill estimates this winter they’ve spent more than $20,000 in repairs and $30,000 for fuel to keep the trucks run- ning. As he rumbles down the road towards town to drop me off, the wind has started to pick up and the snow is falling heavily once again. Bill still had a couple of more drive- ways to clear prior to heading home for a short rest, and before starting the process all over again. As he dropped me off at my car back in town, he’s already on his cell phone giving his men instructions to be ready to head out as soon as the snow stops. And that will be in the middle of the night, when most people in Scugog are snuggled warmly in their beds... dream- ing of white sandy beaches, not white cold snow. ByJ. Peter Hvidsten Focus on Scugog website: www.focusonscugog.com “APRIL.OB/S2pages.indd 47 Very few people ventured out Saturday night at the height of the storm, but we found at least one resident out for a walk in the blowing snow. > “= ~ Towering snow banks lined Queen St. the moming after the big storm dumped 30 cm on Scugog. Margaret Snider-McGrath made her way along Queen. St. on cross-country skiis after a winter storm dropped 30 cm of snow on the area. FOCUS - APRIL 2008 47 oreane s04e:a6au |