Ice Storm Creates Dangerous Conditions, Cancels Classes

By Mariah Richards
Edited by Erin Hillard, John Morelli

Mid Michigan residents suffered through a second winter storm last night, making travel difficult and forcing Central Michigan University to delay the start of classes.

Blowing winds and snow contributed to hazardous driving conditions, as some residents of the area found out when they left home for work and school.

. “It took me an hour to get to work,” said Tammy Morris of Rosebush. “Usually it takes twenty minutes, so I was late, but at least I didn’t go off of the road.”

Her boss, Diane Recker, was not so lucky. “I was probably going too fast,” the Weidman resident said. “I hit my brakes at an intersection and slid off of the road. I had to call my husband and have him come out with his four wheel drive truck to pull me back onto the road, so I was late for work too.”

Central Michigan University delayed classes until noon, according to the Central hotline, which students can call for updates. At 9:15 a.m. the hotline reported that classes would be resuming at noon.

Central Michigan University student Miranda Walker said, “I wish they had canceled classes for the whole day. I live on the outskirts of Mt. Pleasant and the roads were just a mess. I have a noon class and I had to leave at eleven, when I normally leave my house at, like twenty to noon.”

“It took me ten minutes to get into my car,” explained Lansing senior Erin Hillard, who also has a noon class and had to crawl through the rear passenger door of her car because the driver’s door was frozen shut. “They should have canceled school.”

Central also notified its’ students of the school re-opening at noon through email.

“I love how they sent the email about school opening at noon at 12:02,” said Mount Pleasant junior, Elisha Richards. Richards made the decision to skip her organic chemistry lab rather than make the drive into Mt. Pleasant at noon. “I’d rather download a few slides and have to go over them at home than have an accident,” she said.

Mother Nature may not have finished with Mid-Michigan yet. According to the National Weather Service’s website, more winter weather may be on the way, and the area is under a winter storm watch from Thursday evening to Friday morning. “Snow is expected to develop across the area,” warns the National Weather Service, and “greater than six inches is possible.”