Image Credit: Mel Rothenburger

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: The good, the bad and the tragic of this winter storm

Jan 13, 2020 | 5:05 AM

KAMLOOPS — A FEW THOUGHTS on the nasty storm that descended upon us Sunday.

The good news is that most people seemed to take it seriously and heed advice to stay home. That wasn’t good news for merchants, whose stores were pretty empty, but it showed that people were being smart.

There were plenty of stories about neighbours helping neighbours shovel out their driveways, and drivers helping each other when they got stuck.

Nevertheless, the Coquihalla was taking its toll, and a tragedy in Rayleigh received a lot of attention. A horse was killed by a CN train and the rider was taken to hospital.

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An initial police report was devoid of details, which is often the case immediately after something happens.

Social media were alive with comments questioning why the man was out riding in the storm, especially near the rail tracks. Some of those comments were hurtful.

There are times when people should just keep their mouths shut until they have some facts upon which to draw conclusions. As it turns out, the man was helping round up some horses to get them to shelter.

And here’s my annual complaint about the yard-tractor warriors who insist on pushing the snow from their driveways out onto the street. It’s illegal and dangerous. If you’ve ever been driving along and suddenly struck a frozen mound of snow stretching across the road, you will know this. Stop it.

Finally, a shout out to the under-appreciated crews who go out in all kinds of weather, no matter what time of day or night, to keep our roads safe. They take a lot of guff from those who are impatient, but so far they’ve done a helluva job on this one.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He writes five commentaries a week for CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.