Up and down the Fox Valley, stories of the storm
Those reporters and photographers who could find their cars Wednesday morning and get out on the road did just that — and looked for stories of how you survived the storm. Those who were trapped at home hit the phones. Here’s what we found.
Algonquin
Ÿ Algonquin resident Stewart Logan discovered Wednesday that not all snowblowers are created equal.
“Our snowblower is too small, it’s unfortunately not equipped for this — much like myself,” Logan said.
Logan was busy shoveling his driveway at about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday. After 45 minutes, he was only a third of the way through.
After experiencing the 1979 snowstorm as a youngster, Logan has lived much of his life in Florida, and this was his first time shoveling snow. “It is definitely hard work,” he said.
Ÿ Most people were shoveling their driveways Wednesday morning, but the Idstein family was on their ninth driveway along Scott Street in Algonquin by 10:30 a.m. “We do this every year; we’ve done it since I was a kid,” said Nathan Idstein, 19.
Equipped with two snowblowers and four shovels, Nathan plus his siblings Meghan, 22, and Emily, 16, and parents Barb and Bob Idstein, labored to clear out neighbors’ driveways for $15 to $20 each per driveway. Also helping out was Nathan’s girlfriend, Clara Johnson, 19, who spent the night at the Idsteins.
“Everyone’s work was canceled,” said Nathan, who works as a circulation clerk at the Algonquin Area Public Library. He expected they’d be done around 1 p.m.
Ÿ Reese’s Restaurant downtown opened at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday after owner Jim Lendmann spent the night on the sofa bed in the upstairs office.
Lendmann lives in Schaumburg, and said he always sleeps in the office during big storms so he’s ready to shovel snow in the morning.
“Our first customer came right at 4:30 a.m.; he was up all night plowing,” he said.
Altogether, about 25 to 30 customers had come in for breakfast throughout the morning. “It’s more than I thought I’d have, I’m very happy,” said Lendmann, who plans to stay open the rest of the day.
Batavia
Ÿ Bus 802 normally runs between Aurora and the Charlestowne Mall in St. Charles.
“I’m going to the Aurora Pancake House for breakfast, since McDonald’s and Burger King (in downtown Batavia) are closed,” he said. He was hopeful, because a bus had passed him heading north; he figured it would turn around.
His hope was denied, however. At 8:15 a.m. he was in the lobby of the Government Center, and said he had found out the bus was returning to its terminal.
Five people spent the night at the Government Center in the city council chamber. They had become stuck on an impassable Kirk Road, and police brought them in.
“I’m very cold and sleepy,” said Ariana Topps of St. Charles. She got off work at 10 p.m. Tuesday from her job at Protocol in Aurora. It took her nearly four hours to get from there to Hubbard Road on Kirk Road before police had her pull off.
“I was miserable all night,” her husband, Trenton Thompson said, who was at their home. “I didn’t sleep at all. I was just worried about her well-being.” He picked her up in the morning.
Ÿ Around 9 a.m. Wednesday, Panera Bread at 154 W. Wilson in Batavia opened.
Joe McWilliams and Ian Nix, two roommates who live on North Washington Street, stopped by around 10:40 to get breakfast and lunch after shoveling their driveway.
McWilliams jokingly said he gave up after five minutes of shoveling and let his roommate do the work, but Nix denied that.
“We shoveled. We drove. We did it,” McWilliams said.
Carpentersville
Ÿ The fire department received a few calls for service, but none required a rescue.
Most calls were for medical services, and two people had to be transported to Sherman Hospital from the east side of Carpentersville between 1 to 3 a.m., said Assistant Fire Chief John Skillman. “At I-90 and Randall Road the roads were treacherous, they had four-foot drifts,” he said. “They had to make sure to go around them and stay on the road to get to the hospital.”
A power outage in a small section in the east side was reported from about 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., Skillman said.
Ÿ The village’s primary streets were cleared as of 11:30 a.m. with work on the secondary streets expected to begin early afternoon, Village President Ed Ritter said.
“Our crews were out there plowing all night,” Ritter said. “Right now, if you can get to a main road you can get around.”
The village is utilizing two crews and 17 pieces of equipment on 12-hour shifts to clear the streets.
“We are throwing everything that we can at it,” Ritter said. “We started plowing early and got ahead of it and until the storm is defeated we’ll be out there working.”
East Dundee
Ÿ Jason Loeffler, driving a pickup truck equipped with a snowplow, was clearing roads since 9 a.m. on Tuesday. He eventually had to stop at 1 a.m. Wednesday, when he couldn’t see across the road.
“We tried to keep up last night,” Loeffler said after resuming his work Wednesday morning. “It was more dangerous than anything. There was no visibility. I hit a drift about five feet high, I spun out and had to call a couple guys to rescue me.”
For most of Wednesday morning, Loeffler, an East Dundee resident and heavy machine operator for Palumbo Management, worked to clear Christina Drive, which leads to an East Dundee business park, closed because of the weather.
Much of his work, though, has been getting cars out of the waist-high drifts that piled up along Route 72, making portions of the major east-west thoroughfare impassable Wednesday.
“In the past two hours, there’s been 15, 20 cars get stuck,” Loeffler said. “I’ve pulled four cars out of here already. That’s all we’ve done all day. Between last night and today, if I can get 10 bucks for every car I’ve gotten out, I’d be a rich man.”
Even as he spoke, a compact car was buried up to the roof in the middle of Route 72. No one had bothered to dig it out. A Daily Herald delivery truck was stuck in a couple feet of snow on the other side of the road.
“The worst part is they can’t clear the road with the cars stuck,” Loeffler said.
Ÿ The village’s main streets are cleared but Route 25 was closed Wednesday south of Walmart due to a 6-foot snow drift, Village President Jerry Bartels said. A snow drift also forced the village to close Rock Road heading east of the village.
Elgin
Ÿ Just because the snow stopped falling doesn’t mean the work is over in the city.
All told, 275 vehicles were reported being stuck, which includes roughly 40 vehicles that fell into a shallow ditch on Route 72 and Route 47, city spokeswoman Sue Olafson said.
Police drove those who lived nearby home and took others to the police station where they made arrangements for pickups, Olafson said.
“Overall, we’re very pleased with the plowing,” Mayor Ed Schock said. “Everyone stepped up. “That’s what’s great about Elgin — everyone steps up in an emergency.”
Some streets remain closed until further notice.
They include Nesler Road, Lawrence Avenue west of Route 31, Shales Parkway and Chicago Street and Route 25. Steep hills lie at the three latter intersections, which makes them dangerous for driving.
Normally, Elgin uses 22 snow plows but is now using 38 to keep the roads clear. Any city employee with a commercial driver’s license was pitching in to help plow.
Police, meanwhile, are patrolling the city in 21 sport utility vehicles. The city rented six SUV’s from Enterprise, Bigger’s Chevrolet donated nine and police already had six in operation. All are equipped with four-wheel drive capabilities.
Geneva
Ÿ Mayor Kevin Burns said the city’s snow- and ice-control plan worked well. He credits police, public works employees, and the residents who heeded warnings to stay off the roads.
“It actually has been very uneventful” as far as emergencies go, he said.
Wednesday afternoon city plow crews were hitting the secondary roads and swinging back to main roads. Snow will be loaded out of the downtown after winds have died down, possibly not until the weekend.
There were no power outages or water main breaks.
North Aurora
Ÿ According to Lt. Scott Buziecki, there were no major police problems due to the storm — just a handful of cars in ditches. A Darien resident who was stranded spent the night in the lobby of the police department until officials were able to find the man a hotel room Wednesday.
South Elgin
Ÿ The South Elgin Fire Protection District had not fielded a single snow-related phone call by midmorning Wednesday, said Assistant Fire Chief Bill Sohn. No accidents have been reported in the village and there were no known power outages. All of the roads remained open throughout the blizzard and public works employees are keeping the main roads clear.
“I guess everybody looked outside and said, ‘It wasn’t my cup of tea today,’” Sohn said.
Sugar Grove
Ÿ Village plow drivers helped police take stranded motorists from Route 56 and the Route 30 bypass to a warming center at the Sugar Grove and Countryside Fire Protection District station.
“There is a notorious area that gets snowed in,” Village President Sean Michels said.
Michels stopped at a grocery store around 6 p.m. Tuesday. “I was amazed at how desolate it was,” he said.
St. Charles
The city’s early preparation for the snowflake onslaught kept the roads open, and city officials said all roads received at least one pass by a plow by late Wednesday morning.
The city hired private plows to supplement city-owned equipment for the road-clearing efforts. City officials, like most communities in the area, advised travel only if absolutely necessary while public works crews did their jobs.
Both the police and fire departments are running at full staffing to assist with residents’ needs. The fire department has even temporarily increased normal staffing levels because of the high volume of rescue calls. Residents are being asked to try and clear the snow from around their nearest fire hydrants if at all possible to assist the city.
All St. Charles city offices were closed Wednesday, but the phones will be answered during normal daytime business hours.
West Dundee
Ÿ Spring Hill Mall remained closed Wednesday. Mall officials said department store hours may vary and shoppers are advised to check with stores for details. Spring Hill Mall is expected to reopen at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Ÿ Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said the streets were cleared with the only issues to report Wednesday morning being the 5-foot high snow drifts along sidewalks in the downtown area.
“We are extremely impressed with the work of our public works department,” said Cavallaro, who was touring the village with Trustee Becky Gillam Wednesday morning. “Our streets are extremely passable. You can’t get into Carpentersville or East Dundee on the connecting streets.”
Ÿ Daily Herald staff writers Lenore Adkins, Larissa Chinwah, Elena Ferrarin, James Fuller, Harry Hitzeman, Jameel Naqvi and Susan Sarkauskas contributed to this story.