Weekend blizzard almost shuts town down

By FINN HARTNETT

Staff writer

It was Sunday, the biblical day of rest.

Add to that unshoveled sidewalks, dangerously icy roads, and snow pouring down, and it was no wonder Marion streets were empty, with businesses closed.

Plus, there was football on. Even if the Chiefs were resting all their best players, it was a perfect day to hole up inside.

But as with all things in life, there were exceptions to the rule.

Mark Putter was out Sunday. In fact, he’d been out since 6 a.m., shoveling snow around Casey’s General Store.

Putter didn’t sleep at all Saturday night, he said, and would likely be out shoveling until evening.

He and his team — two other grizzled-looking men — were part of a personal contracting company and wanted to make a good impression in their first job for the nationwide chain.

Despite the tough work, Putter said he liked being out in the snow.

“I just wish it was 80 degrees with snow,” he said.

The three men had plans to shovel the Hillsboro and Herington Casey’s stores as well but couldn’t get there because of the roads.

For most of Sunday, they toiled away around Marion’s store, keeping the area around impressively tidy.

Casey’s was a rare store open for business. The few employees who’d managed to make it in declined to comment on how the snow had affected their day, citing store policy prohibiting them speaking to the media.

The only other business open was right across the street.

With no one else able or willing to come in Sunday, Subway employee Kara Druse had been by herself all day in the store.

While Subway does not require stores to open in such conditions, the owner likes them to be, “just in case.”

By 1:30 p.m., Druse had served one customer, a man who’d come in for a soda before getting his car stuck in the parking lot on his way out.

“He had to borrow our shovel,” Druse said.

Dozens of loaves of fresh bread would have to be thrown out at the end of the day. The store was not able to donate the loaves without filing some paperwork, she said

She personally is not a fan of snow.

“It’s like the biggest deceiver of all,” she said of the weather. “It looks all nice and pretty, but then you can’t do anything!”

She was excited to be off Monday to spend some time with her pets.