Monday, January 25, 1932
Daily Nebraskan
Page 6
Snow removers
By Bill Allen
The clock says 2 a.m. The wind chill factor is 50
below zero and the snow is piling up fast in the blowing
wind. You don't mind, though, because you're nestled
snugly in a nice warm bed. Unless, of course, you work
for the UNL Department of Grounds.
"Every employee is on call 24 hours a day, even week
ends," said Kirby Baird, City Campus supervisor of the
department. This is in addition to their regular hours of
7:30 a.m. to 4 pjn. weekdays.
The reason for all this early morning activity? Snow.
The grounds department has to make all walkways, steps,
parking lots and some streets on campus navigable by the
time the rest of the university population starts using
them.
The department has a weather service that alerts it of
possible snow about 48 hours in advance, Baird said.
The equipment used by the department includes five
snow plows, two dump trucks and pickups for hauling
snow away and bringing sand and gravel in, as well as
many shovels, according to Don Shew.
Shew, operations manager for the department said he
usually likes to wait until most of the snow has fallen and
the wind has died down before starting snow removal.
Otherwise, the snow would blow back into an area as fast
as it is cleared.
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Both City and liast Campuses are divided into areas
which are assigned to an area supervisor who makes sure
that area is cleared of snow.
According to Yvonne Sommcrs, an area supervisor,
some areas present greater problems than others.
"The north door of Morrill Hall will be closed from
now on," Sommers said, "not only to save energy, but
those rounded steps are dangerous because snow and ice
collect there."
Other areas cited by the staff as being especially hard
to keep clear were the areas around Burnett Hall, Besscy
Hall and Oldfather Hall, where a wind tunnel causes snow
to collect.
The grounds department on City Campus has 12 full
time employees assigned to snow. There are also a few
part-time students who help, Baird said. Five people drive
snow plows and the rest remove snow from sidewalks and
steps.
According to Baird, because of the limited number of
people and limited amount of time for removing the snow,
the department advertises for student "call in" help at the
beginning of each year.
"The response to the ads this year was the biggest
we've ever had," Baird said. "But not that many have
showed up to work. City Campus had 68 students sign up
to work at the beginning of the year," he said, "after the
first snow four actually showed up; after the second, five
showed up."
They just don t realize how hard the work is, iom-
mers said.
Sommers said most students don't realize the service
that the grounds department provides.
"We'll be working in an area and people will look at us
like 'What the hell are you doing here?' " Sommers said.
Another area supervisor, Jennifer Hicks, voiced similar
views.
"Most people don't seem to rcalic that the work we
do (during snow removal) is directly for their safety," she
said.
Icy spots are a problem for the grounds department,
according to Baird. After snow becomes firmly packed
and the temperature is below freezing, there's not much
that can be done about the ice, he said.
"About all we can do is sand and gravel it," Baird said.
According to John Wiltse, assistant to the university
general counsel, if a person is injured on an icy spot on
campus, that person would have to prove negligence on
the part of the university to receive any actual payment
for damages.
"They would have to prove that there was a duty to re
move it (ice) and if the university had failed to remove it
in a reasonable amount of time," Wiltse said.
The university, on the other hand, according to Wiltse,
"would ask whether or not that person had exercised the
normal care that a person would while walking down the
street," he said.
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Arctic-like weather brings frostbite
By Vicki Ruhga
Mittens, coats and hats are essentials for
students braving the arctic-like weather
that has blasted the Midwest during the last
months, according to Dr. Gerald Fleischli
of the University Health Center.
"Students need to be concerned about
the possibilities of frostbite," Fleischli said.
"There'seems to be a macho thing where
students think they don't need to wear a
hat or gloves because 'we're tough.' It's
important that students know frostbite is a
real thing and it can happen."
Fleischli handled one case of frostbite
which fortunately did not result in a loss of
finger digits. In 1981, four cases of frost
bite were reported to the health center dur
ing the winter months. In 1982, three cases
have been reported in January alone.
Frostbite occurs when individual cells
freeze and swell up. There can be breaking
of cell membranes, but not all cells die,
Fleischli said. Blood also freezes during
frostbite and cuts off the oxygen supply to
the cells.
The remedy for frostbite is slow warm
ing in lukewarm water. However, this
should not be done unless the person will
be able to stay warm. Fleischli said this is
because each refreeze damages the cells, so
if a person is stranded he should concent
rate on keeping the rest of his body warm,
rather than thawing the frozen parts.
Warming frozen areas too rapidly is
dangerous because cells may thaw out first
and require oxygen, which is still in the
frozen blood supply. As a result, the cell
dies from lack of oxygen. Another danger
is that the frostbite victims have no sensat
ion and can be burned easily by warming
excessively.
Fleischli said there have been more
sprained ank'les and wrists, as well as sore
bottoms, because of falls on the ice. How
ever, there have been few broken bones be
cause of ice, he said.
Hypothermia, another result of the
cold, is a condition which occurs when the
body temperature goes below 80 to 85
degrees and causes the heart to stop beat
ing rhythmically, similar to a heart attack.
Although hypothermia has teen common
across the country, Fleischli said young
people are not usually bothered by it, with
the exception of those suffering from
severe 6 to 12 hour exposure. There were
no hypothermia cases reported to the
health center in 1981, and so far none in
1982.
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