U. better prepared for snow

Jack Frost's efforts did not hinder Physical Plant's snow crews from cleaning streets and sidewalks on and near campus Saturday morning. The crews worked through the night Friday and well into Saturday, starting just before midnight and finishing up at about 7 p.m., Director of Environmental Service Norman O'Connor said. And the 35 Physical Plant workers were well prepared for the snow storm -- better prepared than last year when the University was bombarded with a series of ice and snow storms. "Last year we were pressed harder than any year before that," O'Connor said. He also said his workers did a "heck of job" plowing and shoveling after the storm that dumped about nine inches of snow on Philadelphia. But O'Connor said there was one trouble spot. A fraternity, which he refused to identify, pelted his employees with snowballs causing them to avoid the area. In addition, he said that this year the University had bought more heavy equipment, including a front-end loader and three bulldozers in anticipation of snow storms. And Physical Plant had contractors lined up in advance, to help with the clean-up, and had access to a bigger salt supply than in previous years. As for future blizzards, O'Connor said his crew is willing and ready to meet any challenge. "We can't wait," he said. "We get better as we go. People in Syracuse are probably very good at it because they do it all the time. It's good to keep us in practice." In addition to the Physical Plant workers, house keeping and automotive employees put in extra hours on the weekend, O'Connor said. Superintendent of Hardsur-face/Athletic Grounds Mike Ferraiolo said his crews were also more prepared than last year. "We been really fortunate so far," Ferraiolo said. "We're prepared to take on as many storms as possible this year. We don't want to be caught up like we did last year." Even the City of Philadelphia seemed to have its act together. Cynthia Brooks, a spokesperson for the Streets Department, said the city had received a lot of praise from citizens and the press for its handling of the snow "It makes us feel good and we're gonna let our folks know what a great job we did," Brooks said. The city had about 435 employees working on the clean-up effort over the weekend.

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