Wintery mix hits county
Monday’s wintery mix closed schools, rescheduled government meetings, and wreaked havoc on county roads.
A thin sheet of ice covered much of East Tennessee as an artic cold front felt its presence known after a week of below freezing temperatures.
Schools did not open last week as scheduled coming off the Christmas break because concerns over students standing in below freezing temperatures waiting for a school bus.
Monday morning they were greeted with ice.
The Anderson County Schools central office was closed because of “icy conditions,” but Monday night’s Board of Education budget committee meeting went forward as scheduled.
Anderson County government was also closed Monday because of ice and meetings set for Monday evening were rescheduled for Thursday, Jan. 11.
Those meetings include: Conservation — Room 118A at 4 p.m.; Purchasing — Room 312 at 4:30 p.m.; Highway — Room 312 at 5 p.m.; Nominating — Room 118A at 5:30 p.m.; Operations — Room 312 at 6 p.m.
At 9:20 a.m. the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement asking people not to travel.
“Freezing rain has caused icy conditions throughout Anderson County. Both state routes and rural roads are slick and hazardous,” the statement read.
There were several reports of non-injury crashes where drivers have slid off the roadway.
“We are advising motorists not to travel at this time,” the statement read.
Sixteen reports of motor vehicle accidents were reported Monday — 14 were non-injury and two reported minor injuries.
The Sheriff’s Office reported on a “typical” Monday three motor vehicle accidents were the norm for Anderson County.
The Sheriff’s Office report also noted that road conditions didn’t start deteriorating untl after 9 a.m. — by the time most people were already at work.
Temperatures are expected to climb into the 60s by the end of the week, but another cold front will follow, expected this weekend.
