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0:00
Joining us live now on the program is Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendell
0:04
To talk more about the county's response to this storm, PJ, thanks so much for taking time on your busy schedule today to update our viewers
0:12
No problem. Thanks for having me. So first off, I want to get your pulse on the situation there in the north county
0:20
Obviously, these live pictures that we're seeing are really treacherous. The roads in some places are almost impassable
0:29
What's the current status of the storm recovery effort? And I suppose people are still bracing it as it's falling
0:38
Right. I think, you know, really we're still in, you know, kind of taking it on
0:42
Not sure exactly when it's supposed to let up. I think sometime this evening or even in the wait hours of the morning
0:50
We've been talking since 5 o'clock this morning. I've been talking with our crews up in the North County
0:54
they are able to maintain. The roads may not look like it
0:59
I haven't seen plenty of live pictures yet, but I'll take your word for it
1:03
I know my crew has all been saying they're able to keep up with it. Should we need any assistance
1:09
we'll bring our crews back in or the state has excessive resources on the ground
1:15
especially here in Western New York. One of the things that has changed is they are diverting traffic off of 90
1:21
should anybody have been able to continue on there and tractor-trailer traffic will be diverted to 5 and 20
1:28
We did plow out the parking lot at Lakeshore Hospital, which isn't occupied right now
1:35
So we did that the best we could. So if there are drivers that want to get off the road
1:39
and get out of the congestion for a little while to free up some traffic, they're able to do that
1:44
That been in coordination with Noel Gutman I know and our state police And it really a continuous plan we already have in place for these types of events So our DPF pod drivers can say enough about them and thanking them for all they been
1:58
doing. And again, if you look out my window, it's sunny and no precipitation, but obviously a
2:05
different, a tale of two cities if you look up into the North. Yeah, definitely. And this isn't
2:10
anything new that we don't know exists in Chautauqua County when it comes to lake effect snow or all
2:15
of western New York for that matter. On that point of snow removal, I know you mentioned there really
2:19
haven't been any major issues we've seen so far, but a lot of people might think, all right, well
2:24
if I'm just going to stay home today anyway, what's the point of getting out there and making
2:27
sure that the roads are passable? Well, we've been listening to the dispatch scanner this morning
2:32
There are still medical calls that are going on. 9-1-1 still has to get there. So in that sense
2:37
for you, what's the importance of making sure that if people aren't needing to go out because
2:43
they don't have an emergency, nothing vital to simply stay home because if they do get out
2:47
they do get into a crash, they close the road, that could be life or death for somebody else
2:53
It could. And, you know, we just like everybody to urge caution when they're out traveling. You
2:58
know, we haven't made an official travel ban for any areas. And, you know, we'd be in conference
3:03
with the Sheriff's Department. And I know the city of Dunkirk Police Department did make
3:07
you know, some travel restrictions there. But as far as the countywide, we haven't issued any
3:12
And you're 100% correct. Let's take a step back. And if you remember what was the front page of the, you know, and you guys were there, you know, two days ago in the fire on Allen Street
3:22
So let's say that storm were to touch into Jamestown. Now you imagine all that snow load onto a building that had already collapsed
3:29
So you run the risk of the building collapsing. Now you mentioned you talk about a fire
3:33
Now you're having to get all that fire apparatus in the middle of a snowstorm. So you're right
3:38
It imperative that we keep these roads open for such an event And unfortunately that usually when these events happen you know in cold inclement weather you know people trying to heat the homes or something malfunctions or something happens um now you looking at either you know a structure fire uh in a home or you looking at
3:56
you know accidents on the roadway so it's imperative as you hear business still goes on
4:01
with emergency services whether it's our police and fire and ems uh the snow doesn't stop for them
4:05
especially. So again, you know, the importance of keeping people off the roads in an event like this
4:11
it doesn't, you know, it allows for, you know, the need of those vehicles to travel without the
4:16
added risk of other drivers on the road. Because let's face it, you panic, you see a 17-ton truck
4:23
fire truck coming up behind you, you're going to swerve, you swerve, you go out the ditch, you cause an accident or something else. You know, we do, you know, those areas
4:32
We just urge people to travel with caution. Yeah, absolutely. And you touched on that the city of Dunkirk does have that travel advisory, obviously travel restricted now on I-90 and some other thoroughfares as you get into Erie County
4:45
What goes into that process if Chautauqua County were to issue something like this
4:52
How do you weigh that? And is that on the horizon if and when the storm maybe moves southward later today
4:59
Of course. And, you know, we'd be talking with the sheriff. He'd be the one that issues those travel bans as we go throughout the county
5:06
And it would be in concert with first responders, what we're hearing in the North County
5:10
what are we hearing from our plow drivers, you know, towns and village drivers as well. As you heard, you know, I know Erie County, County Executive Poling Cars made those announcements
5:19
yesterday in anticipation for this snowfall. Obviously, the South Towns are getting hit quite a bit
5:26
And I think the city is now the city of Buffalo is finally I think kind of getting some of this although I been following it closely You know we just urge people we would look and you know weigh all those options And unfortunately what weighs heavily is safety of our residents
5:43
first and foremost, and all of our drivers, too. You know, we forget those, you know, we hear about supply chain issues
5:49
and different things. Those tractor-trailer drivers, that's their job. And, you know, people are critical
5:53
And this time of year, they're expecting things to get delivered. And, you know, nobody wants to hear expected delays of delivery
6:00
So, you know, those men and women who drive over the road, they have an obligation and a commitment
6:05
But, you know, our commitment here in our county is to make sure that those people that are traveling those roads are safe and that we're looking out for their safety
6:11
So, you know, should we issue those bans that will be or travel restrictions, those will be well thought out and choreographed
6:19
And in fact, the situation we talked about earlier of, you know, plowing Lakeshore Hospital parking lot and diverting traffic to those main routes
6:28
there's already a plan in place, you know, in concert with the county, the Sheriff's Department
6:33
State Police, et cetera, with Chautauqua and Cattaraugas counties to implement should we have
6:37
road closures and highway closures. So, you know, we prepared for this. Yes, this is Western New York
6:43
You know, we hope we don't see the two to four feet or more as they're calling for in the South
6:48
towns. But nonetheless, what is unique, I'm told, about this storm is it's just hanging out
6:53
over that area closest to the shoreline. Many people that live in that area closest to
6:58
the lake will tell you that, you know, realistically, you know, Dunkirk and Fredonia, that Lake Erie
7:03
shoreline doesn't get the lake effect snow. It's usually inland. But Mother Nature wants us to
7:09
remember that, you know, it doesn't matter if she wants to dump snow, she's going to dump it wherever
7:13
she wants. And those people who usually dodge the heavy snowfall on lake effect events are
7:18
definitely catching the brunt of it right now. Yeah. And in the end, Mother Nature is going to
7:23
have the final say. Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendell joining us live today with an update on
7:27
the storm. We appreciate your time. Thank you
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