McHenry County Blog

All in all, it was a very bad night for traffic.

Route 62 was worse than that part of Algonquin Road east of Route 31, which is a county road. Maybe it was the beet juice mixed with the salt. The county section, however, had a dicey, snow-covered right lane.

McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler offers the following on an award given to McHenry County Transportation Department Maintenance Superintendent Mark DeVries:

“I am pleased to announce that the McHenry County Division of Transportation (MCDOT) Maintenance Superintendent Mark DeVries was recently awarded the American Public Works Association (APWA) Presidential Leadership Award for 2012!

“The Presidential Leadership Award is an extraordinary commemoration.

“It is awarded at the discretion of the APWA President to someone who has distinguished himself or herself in the public works profession.

“Past recipients of this prestigious award include former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters.

“Mark received the award at the APWA Congress and Expo this August in Anaheim, CA which is an annual gathering of APWA members from across the world.

“APWA is the largest international organization of its kind with over 28,000 members and serves its members by promoting professional excellence and public awareness through education, advocacy, and exchange of knowledge.

“The Presidential Leadership Award is the highest award APWA bestows upon an individual.

“Mark is being recognized as he has been an exemplary professional in snow and ice, and winter maintenance and safety.

“His efforts in the public works profession are felt not only here locally in McHenry County but throughout Illinois, the entire United States, and internationally.

“His passion, enthusiasm and willingness to share his expertise with others in the profession are unparalleled in his field.

“Mark has worked for the McHenry County Division of Transportation since 1984 and has been Maintenance Superintendent since 2001.

“He chairs APWA’s Winter Maintenance Subcommittee and the Excellence in Snow and Ice Control Award Committee.

“He has shared his experiences with local agencies as well at local seminars and expos.

“Mark also assists the Illinois Local Technology Transfer Program and teaches flagging safety and snow and ice removal for new operators for many local agencies in northern Illinois.

“In 2010, Mark was also recognized as one of APWA’s Top Ten Public Leader of the Year.”

McHenry County has had snow this winter.

Not much, but Thursday’s predicted snowfall has been widely predicted.

So, what was happening the day before the storm?

There were women walking or running their dogs.

Here’s a convertible with its top down in mid-afternoon.

And, then there was the harbinger of doom, at least to those of us who are not fans of snow.

This seems appropriate for this cold week.

The Boy Scout tee shirt has the date February 7, 2010. That the day the East Coast was snowed in. We got hit in the Midwest, too, but not enough to merit a tee shirt.

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A reader points out below my identification is inaccurate:

“Actually that was the date the New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV. The joke was that the Saint would win the Super Bowl when Hell froze over.”

“It’s My Mind” has “snow” falling down its screen.

Morning came and the snow was high.

And, there was a beeping noise in the Skinner household.

It was in the basement next to the furnace.

The carbon monoxide detector.

The furnace was off, but why?

Expert in all sorts of things mechanical Marty Walter of Walter Alarm suggested that the pipes to the outside might be covered with snow and he was right.

NICOR redirected my call to the Lakewood Fire Department and a fire truck appeared.

I sent my son and a friend down the driveway to show the firemen which house had made the call.

The boys accomplished their mission.

The sleepover guys had already shoveled out the pipes, but the fireman made sure.

We were just the second call of the day.

Although the roads were passable, there was no traffic.

There was plenty of that today.

More tonight and tomorrow.

Yesterday I showed you the calm before the storm on Crystal Lake.

Here’s what the lake looked like early Saturday morning during the storm:

A couple of blocks closer to the East end of the lake geese were swimming in the open water and standing on the ice.

If winter could talk, it might be asking,

“Miss me yet?”

My answer:

“Nope.”

The ice disappeared from Crystal Lake on Friday, March 19th.