A lesson in futility

Three weeks ago the city of Spokane encountered two feet of snow in 24 hours. It is still trying to catch up. Yes, we have had an incredible amount despite prognostications that this winter season would be normal after last year’s near record total snow.

What did we learn from last year? Apparently nothing. Zip. Nada. Zero. What will we learn from this year? Hard to tell. But here’s a hint.

My street has been plowed five times. It is not an arterial. It is not a secondary arterial. I have attempted to keep my sidewalks cleared. But each time, the plows dump hard, packed, avalanche-type snow that is literally the kind of stuff that breaks backs if removal is attempted.

Now we are being asked to clean access to street drains so that the impending rain might more easily melt the 70-plus inches we have received.

Guess what? We can’t access the drains. The plows have dumped enough snow so that, even if we had a month of 80-degree weather, the intersections would still have hard, crusty, ice-like blockages. Give me a ticket. I’m done. Or pay me.

Jim Bickel

Spokane