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Habersham County praises crews after Winter Storm Cora; road department details response
Summary
County managers recognized public works, fleet and emergency services staff for round-the-clock work during Winter Storm Cora; the road department described pre-storm preparations and said crews scraped and treated over 350 miles in the first 24 hours.
Habersham County officials on Jan. 27 publicly thanked public works, fleet, emergency services and 911 staff for extended storm response efforts during Winter Storm Cora and heard a detailed report from the road department on how crews kept roads open.
Interim County Manager Tim Simms read a recognition that thanked public works (road maintenance and fleet), facilities maintenance, emergency services, the sheriff’s office and 911 staff for “working around the clock” during the storm and for clearing driveways at emergency facilities so first responders could access their equipment. Simms singled out a local restaurant, Wolf Creek Barbecue in Clarkesville, for donating meals to crews.
Public Works Director Jerry Baggett gave the department’s storm report. Baggett said the county prepared two days in advance, pre-staging plows and stockpiling salt, stone and fuel. He described a response structure with five dump-truck spreader/plow zones and three motor-grader zones for major travel routes, and noted use of 1‑ton flatbeds converted for spreading on secondary roads and emergency facilities. Baggett said crews began treating roads Friday morning and that road crews worked continuously through the following Wednesday; he estimated the department “scraped and treated over 350 miles within the first 24 hours” and retreated roads two to five times over subsequent days.
Baggett also credited the fleet maintenance team for keeping vehicles running during the event; most disabled vehicles were repaired and returned to service, he said. He reported Habersham County maintains about 416 miles of paved roads and 98 miles of gravel roads, and that during Cora the department adjusted material mixes (stone-to-salt) when blading proved ineffective on thin ice.
County staff recognized individual contributions: Jerry Baggett singled out Matt Ainsworth, the county’s asset manager, who “stepped up, manned up with the rest of us, and drove a plow and spread salt,” according to the presentation.
Ending County managers said they will continue to refine pre-storm staging and thanked employees and volunteers for extended shifts; commissioners were encouraged to visit staging locations and the aquatic center volunteers who supported crews.
