Iowa County Is Cold but its People are Hot Over Snow Hauling

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(TNS) – Jasper County and the 98 other counties in the state of Iowa were pummeled by a year’s worth of snow in about a week, but rural residents are so upset with the slow pace of hauling and plowing operations that they have resorted to calling other county departments like the auditor and DMV in order to complain.

Supervisor Brandon Talsma responded to the complaints in a 17-minute video posted on his Facebook page with the comment, “Manners, tempers and patience.” The video has since garnered more than 5,400 views and more than 100 reactions, many of which were sympathetic to the county’s challenges.

In the video, Talsma said during budget hearings on Jan. 15 he received around 27 different emails, texts and calls from individuals calling about snow on gravel roads. He then pleaded with residents to not contact other departments if they do not get through to secondary roads, which has been inundated with calls.

“You’re not the only person in the county. You’re not the only person trying to get a hold of them. Just simply hang up and try again,” he said. “Please do not start calling the treasurer’s office, the VA , the auditor’s office, emergency management or anybody else because you can’t get through to secondary roads.”

Two or three people in the secondary roads department, he added, cannot respond in an hour’s time to the hundreds of calls they have been receiving since the snowstorms hit Jasper County . Talsma said it is also difficult for him to keep up with the phone calls he is receiving because of budget hearings.

Talsma asked residents to please be patient when it comes to the plowing of secondary roads. He understands that residents are getting irritated and want out of their homes. Secondary roads crews have been working 12-hour shifts trying to get the roads cleared since the storms.

“We haven’t had a snow event like this in quite some time,” he said.

Secondary roads only has so many staff members and resources at their disposal, and the volume of snow, the pace in which it accumulated, the freezing temperatures and the excessively high drifts have only made matters worse for the plowing and snow hauling crews. Talsma didn’t mince words:

“We have over 927 miles of gravel road in Jasper County ,” he said. “We have over 300 miles of paved routes in Jasper County . Jasper County is 733 square miles. We are the eighth largest county in the state of Iowa . The eighth largest county in the state of Iowa . It’s going to take the guys some time.”

Talsma said he saw a post from Mahaska County that claimed one truck driver spent seven-and-a-half hours to clear a mile-and-a-half of road trying to bust through drifts; Jasper County crews are encountering the exact same conditions. Talsma suggested such conditions are commonplace in the country.

“Living in the country brings a lot of freedom and a lot of privacy, but you’re also not going to experience the same level of expedited services or the same level of services as living in a city,” Talsma said. “We also are a lot larger territory with a lot more miles to cover than counties like Johnson , Polk , stuff like that.”

Talsma also addressed questions from citizens who wanted to know why Jasper County does not have crews running 24-hour snow plowing services.

“Pretty simple: I’d have to tax you for several million dollars a year or more to be able to maintain a crew for situations that might happen three or four times a year. I’ve already got 28 guys that are running 12- to 16-hour shifts,” Talsma said, later noting most counties don’t run 24-hour shifts.

Before wrapping up the video, Talsma asked residents to not “cuss out” county employees. Although he understands why people are upset and going stir crazy, it is not justification to verbally harass employees. Talsma said he also got “f-bombed” four different times in one phone call.

“Our employees should not have to put up with that,” he said. “Please, if you are calling in to them, please mind your manners. Do not cuss at them. Do not yell at them. Do not scream at them. They do have our permission that they do not have to put up with that crap, and they will hang up on you.”

If a resident experiences a medical emergency and lives near an impassable road, Talsma encouraged them to call dispatch. Crews will coordinate with first responders to make sure they still respond to such calls. Talsma asked residents to not fake a medical emergency, which he claimed someone already attempted.

Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty told Newton News in a follow-up interview that this past weather event has been “one of the most challenging circumstances we’ve ever had to operate in.” On Jan. 9 and 13, the sheriff’s office advised against travel all around Jasper County .

The secondary roads department has been regularly posting updates and status conditions of the roads and weather on its Facebook page. While messages are able to be shared and response is favorable, the administrator of the secondary roads department’s page has limited who can comment on many of the posts.

As of Jan. 18 , the secondary roads department stated in a post it has rented additional equipment to get through the heavily drifted areas of the county. Attached to the post was a photo showing the path left behind by a V-plow after cutting through a drift as high as the operator’s cab.

Despite Talsma’s video, residents are still concerned about the county’s response to the impassable roads.

Greg Leavens , of Colfax , attended the board of supervisors meeting on Jan. 16 asking what the county was going to do to make secondary roads passable. Talsma did not know what else to tell him other than the county is working on it. Leavens asked if the county is short on employees to work on the roads.

“I know maintainers were on the pavement,” Leavens said. “I don’t understand it. I thought that’s what the trucks were for.”

Talsma responded, “Maintainers run on pavement during a snow event because paved roads are the primary concern.”

Kelli Van Mannen , program director for Jasper County Elderly Nutrition, had previously praised the secondary roads crews for their work at the start of the meeting. She said if the paved highways are not open, then “it doesn’t do you any good to get the gravel open.”

In the event of a large snowfall, Talsma said maintainers are always going to be running on the highways and roads — so long as it is called for — because they carry more traffic. When those pathways are adequately cleared, the maintainers move to the gravel roads and unincorporated territories.

“They’ve been working 12-hour shifts since last week Tuesday,” Talsma said. “We had 25 or 20-plus inches of snow in four days. I mean, my dad who has spent his whole life living in the country, it ain’t the worst one he’s ever seen but it’s the worst one in 20 years. Then it started getting to subzero temps.”

Frigid conditions made the tall snow drifts extremely hard for plow trucks and maintainers to get through when it wasn’t also gelling up their diesel fuel.

“Every county is doing the exact same thing,” he said. “I’ve been talking with Mahaska County supervisors and they are facing and going through the exact same stuff (we) are. They still don’t think by the end of business today they’re going to have a route open to every single house yet.

” Marion County , which by the way has 300-some less miles of gravel than what Jasper County has, is hoping by noon today they have a path open to all of their houses. And they have 300 less miles of gravel than what we do.”

Leavens paused. “Whatever. Thank you.”

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