EDITOR:
I read with disbelief your headline about Douglas County School District taking heat for not closing schools on Dec. 7. I'm no fan of government bureaucracy - in fact, I find that government generally makes the wrong decisions in most cases - but when I heard that Douglas was holding classes my response was "Good job."
By any rational measurement of winter storm severity, the storm was pretty minor. Before we moved here, we lived for 11 years in the Sierra, where I'd often clear my driveway late at night, only to wake up at 5 the next morning to find another 3 feet or more of fresh snow to clear before going to work. That's right - going to work. Not rolling over and panicking because there was a little snow on the ground.
We can trace many of the problems in our state and nation today to our attitudes. Traditionally Americans are can-do people. We've always taken the challenges thrown at us in stride, and overcome them to triumph and prosper regardless. Do we now live in a time where less than a foot of snow in an area where it snows regularly is enough to reduce us to complete incompetence? If so, I fear for our ability to face the very real and serious challenges facing us.
The answer to dealing with Dec. 7's storm is given in your story on the same page: slow down and use common sense. I laughed out loud at Jeremy Tigh talking about his car. A 1990 Honda Accord has front wheel drive and a front engine, and driven safely and properly is an excellent snow car. In the storm it wouldn't have even needed chains between Jacks Valley and Douglas High School as long as it had some tread on the tires. Our family doesn't own a four-wheel drive vehicle, but we all made it to where we needed to be that day - on time. That included me driving 38 miles to work as an EMT in Mono County in a rear drive car, and my son getting to his job at Heavenly in South Lake Tahoe.
The storm was forecast well in advance, which meant that we were able to plan to slow down and use common sense. We got up early, dug out, and drove slowly. It took me an hour and a half to chain up and drive to work rather than the 35 minutes it normally takes, but I planned ahead and met my obligations. That meant I was available on the ambulance to help people that didn't slow down or use common sense.
Maybe this storm can be a call for each of us to become a little more competent, better prepared and self-sufficient. In the meantime, kudos to the district for making the right call on Monday rather than giving in to the hysteria that gripped many other school districts in Northern Nevada. Many of them couldn't even manage to get open on Tuesday when the sun was shining.
Jim DeGraffenreid
Gardnerville
