Whitley County to use uniform travel advisory system for weather

Wednesday, 15 February 2012 2:07

by Katie Wagner

With the passage of a uniform travel advisory system, deciphering snow emergencies in Whitley County—and statewide—will be much easier this winter.

At their February 6 meeting, the Whitley County Commissioners unanimously passed Ordinance 2012-02 to approve a uniform system for declaring travel emergencies based on the new statewide travel advisory system, which warns motorists about hazardous conditions on county highways. The ordinance repeals Ordinance 2008-01 the “SNOW EMERGENCY ORDINANCE FOR WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA,” which was previously in place and used levels one through four rather than three color levels.

The emergency levels apply mainly to snow emergencies, but also encompass flooding, tornado damage, hazardous material spills and anything else that could cause a roadway to be impassable or travel to be restricted.

According to www.in.gov" www.in.gov, travel advisories will fall into one of three categories:

Advisory, the lowest level, means that routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation and individuals should use caution or avoid those areas.

Watch means that conditions are threatening to the safety of the public. During a watch, only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended, and emergency action plans should be implemented by businesses, schools, government agencies and other organizations.

Warning, the highest level, means that travel may be restricted to emergency management workers only. During a warning, individuals are directed to refrain from all travel; comply with necessary emergency measures; cooperate with public officials and disaster services forces in executing emergency operations plans; and obey and comply with the directions of properly identified officers. More specific restrictions, including parking restrictions, may be included.

In other County news:

County Commissioners Don Amber, George Schrumpf and Tom Rethlake gave a favorable recommendation to the Whitley County Council for appropriations for two new police vehicles—two Dodge Chargers totaling $52,984. Whitley County Chief Deputy Marc Gatton told the Commissioners that Ford no longer produces the Crown Victoria so Dodge Chargers are slowly replacing them as the police car of choice.

Commissioner Tom Rethlake questioned Whitley County Engineer Brandon Forrester about the tentative timetable for the proposed wind ordinance, saying that he would like a reasonable amount of time to make a decision on any recommendations made by the Whitley County Plan Commission regarding the ordinance. The Plan Commission will hold its regular meeting today, February 15, and Forrester said they plan to hash out details of the proposed ordinance in hopes of getting a majority vote to go to the public hearing. However, the public will not be allowed to comment at today’s Plan Commission meeting and must wait until the public hearing, which could be sometime in March.

A wind ordinance would be a county administrative ordinance, so regardless of the Plan Commission’s recommendation, Forrester told Rethlake that the final say lies with the Commissioners.

Whitley County Commissioners meet the first and third Monday of every month, however, due to President’s Day, the next regularly scheduled meeting will be on Tuesday, February 21 at 1 p.m. in the Whitley County Government Center.

by Katie Wagner

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With the passage of a uniform travel advisory system, deciphering snow emergencies in Whitley County—and statewide—will be much easier this winter. At their February 6 meeting, the Whitley County Commissioners unanimously passed Ordinance 2012-02 to approve a uniform system for declaring travel emergencies based on the new statewide travel advisory system, which warns motorists about hazardous conditions on county highways. The ordinance repeals Ordinance 2008-01 the “SNOW EMERGENCY ORDINANCE FOR WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA,” which was previously in place and used levels one through four rather than three color levels. The emergency levels apply mainly to snow emergencies, but also encompass flooding, tornado damage, hazardous material spills and anything else that could cause a roadway to be impassable or travel to be restricted.

According to www.in.gov" www.in.gov, travel advisories will fall into one of three categories:

Advisory, the lowest level, means that routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation and individuals should use caution or avoid those areas.

In other County news:

A wind ordinance would be a county administrative ordinance, so regardless of the Plan Commission’s recommendation, Forrester told Rethlake that the final say lies with the Commissioners.