from staff reports

Despite a state of emergency being issued in the early evening, Wednesday, Feb. 12, no serious accidents had been reported as of 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13.

“People are safe because they are staying home,” 911 emergency dispatcher Susan Tate told reporter Kiesa Kay. “The less people are on the road, the better. I’d suggest if you don’t have to get out, then stay home and stay safe.”

The state of emergency warning was released by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Nixle system after a wintry ice mix began accumulating on the roads Feb. 12.

“I have not had any reports of any trees down or any major vehicle accidents. There were only two minor wrecks that I heard of,” said Polk County Emergency Management Director Bobby Arledge. “There is no report of any power outages and there were two people in the shelter as of 8 p.m. Everything seems good right now.”

Some residents in higher elevations such as Saluda saw around 7 inches of snow at about 9 p.m. and about 10 inches by Thursday morning. NCDOT crews made multiple rounds throughout the day along roads like Hwy. 176 in Tryon to clear the way.

Tryon Town Manager Joey Davis reported that public works employees scraped until about midnight and were back on the roads as of 6 a.m. Thursday.
“Road conditions are not great and we still encourage motorists not to venture out,” Davis said.

District One Schools announced Landrum area students would not attend school on Friday, Feb. 13 because of the bad weather. Polk County Schools Superintendent Bill Miller as of 4 p.m. yesterday said the system had not made a definitive decision but said it was “highly unlikely students would attend Friday especially considering roads might refreeze tonight (Thursday).”