Winter conditions impacting schools, businesses in Brown County

INDIANAPOLIS – Snow-packed and slick gravel roads are just the latest thing residents in Brown County have to deal with this winter season.

Clearing the main roads hasn’t been an issue, but the gravel backroads are a different story. Crews have been trying their best to get those roadsways cleared, but it the delay is impacting both schools and businesses.

“January and February is when we get the worst of the winter,” said Warren Cole, co-owner of Hobnob Corner. “January and February are usually not very good months for us.”

Cole said business has been slow, especially the past couple of days, due to the snow and wintery weather. Cole believes the harsh winter and cold weather played a major part in people not going out as much.

“It has been slower. And February has pretty much been the same,” said Cole. “Been colder, kind of a harsher winter than usual.”

But it’s not just businesses feeling the effects. Students have missed four days this week because of the most recent snow Brown County received. For the entire school year, students have missed a total of nine days. Cole believes it can be difficult for parents to try and find last-minute options to watch their children.

“It’s always difficult when you’re a parent to take care of a child during the day when you’re not used to it,” said Cole. “As a grandparent, we’ve been lucky because the child comes and stays with us and he’s been here the past four days.” 

A lot of the roads in Brown County can become extremely dangerous during snow and ice events. With all the hills and winding roads, small amounts of snow or ice can create hazardous driving conditions on untreated or less traveled routes.

“The backroads of Brown County aren’t very good. It’s hard to keep them clear,” said Cole. “But the main roads, when we were hit with 10 inches of snow, the highway department did a great job with that. The next day, the main highways were clear and quite passable.”

The superintendent with Brown County Schools said they are optimistic the roads will be clear enough by tomorrow to where students will be able to return to the classroom.