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Volume 23, Number 40
Friday, January 3, 2020
Estimating snow removal costs is a tricky science By Michael Gagne Record-Journal staff
Paul Schatzman, of Country Flower Farms in Middlefield, holds up one of his pre-cut balsam firs. Despite a national shortage of Christmas trees, Schatzman didn't foresee any loss in sales this year. Photo by Everett Bishop, Town Times
Local tree sellers unconcerned by tree shortage By Everett Bishop Town Times
There was a shortage of Christmas trees over the 2019 holidays, as reported on a national level, and local vendors acknowledge that the industry has seen some problems with supplies. But as far as obtaining trees and how sales went with their Middlesex County customers, it was business as usual in December. According to the Associated Press and numerous other news sources, the 2019 Christmas tree business had yet to recover from the 2008 recession. That economic downturn resulted in more people buying artificial trees and consequently many tree farms planted fewer seedlings as demand decreased. And it may take a
while longer for those young trees to reach maturity and be ready for the marketplace. A PBS report noted that several unusually rainy seasons, especially in southern regions of the U.S., hurt growth and consequently that may delay the tree harvest for several more years. All of those factors resulted in some areas of the country finding trees in short supply. “It is getting harder for a lot of people to get trees,” said Paul Schatzman, owner of Country Flower Farms in Middlefield. He has been selling pre-cut trees at Country Flowers for the past 27 years, moving an average of nearly 600 per year. Despite the shortage, SchatzSee Trees, A9
For state transportation officials and local municipal leaders, the annual task of estimating the resources needed each winter to carry out snow removal operations — including how much road salt to keep in town- and stateowned sheds — is a tricky science, at best. The mix of rain and snow that blanketed the region during December’s first winter storm wasn't noteworthy because of how much snow accumulated. Rather, it was the storm’s duration. It began with snow late on the morning on Dec. 1 that turned to freezing rain, and the precipitation didn’t taper off until two days later.
A snowplow parked at the Connecticut Department of Transportation Maintenance Facility on Highway Garage Road off Route 15 in Meriden Dec. 27, 2019. Dave Zajac, Record-Journal
State Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Nursick described it as easily a “multi-million dollar storm” for the DOT. Nursick estimated the cost of keeping roads snow- and ice-free throughout that storm's duration at around $4 million.
“If you get six inches of snow in two hours, that's much less expensive than six inches of snow over 12 hours,” Nursick said. With 2020 just days away, See Storms, A9
Tips for dealing with wildlife in winter By Lauren Sellew Record-Journal staff
Backyard encounters with wildlife are common during the winter months, experts say, as animals travel greater distances in search of food. Local animal control officers offered some advice on encountering wildlife during the winter.
A red fox trots along a fence line in the backyard of a residence in Cromwell Nov. 14, 2019.
“Let them pass through, don’t harass them, don’t corner them,” said Rachel Amenta, Wallingford’s assistant animal control officer.
Many wild animals seasonally change their behavior to deal with cold temperatures and scarce food supplies, having adapted over thousands of years to cope with
Dave Zajac, Record-Journal
harsh winter weather, according to the Masschusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Supplemental feeding can alter that See Wildlife, A8