Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Snow Days- Political Material?

There are some things that should not become political. These include science, general safety. I said 'should', not 'are not'. Remember, this year is an election year. Anything goes. Weather-related school cancellations are not an embarassment. Plumbing issues that close a school are. The same goes for skidding minivans that could have been spared the trip. Or the snowplow trucks that are damaged by that skidding car. Running out of snow cleanup funds does not seem to be a political non pas. But, not plowing streets in the name of fiscal responsibility seems like a bad move, a la DC 1996. Maybe the neighboring jursidictions or the national guard will lend a plow. Sometimes, the decider is pressured into making a bad call- "these kids already lost 3 days of school" is no replacement for impartial judgement. Or what if the signs are not there- snow is expected to come at noon. Should you close school and risk ridicule, or brave it out and risk a rushed, teutonic effort at having to get kids on buses and home before the white stuff comes. That's an embarrasment. Alas, mistakes don't ruin you. It's the way you handle them. Don't make knee-jerk reactions too obvious- it makes you look incompetent. Try evolutionary change.

Scare tactics have been shown to work in favor of incumbents. Try this: "Vote for Mr. X, he's the only one who can protect your family from Jack Frost". Or, a general 'state of emergency' on election day.

For the record, Mont. Co. was teased for making a no delay call on Monday when roads were havily iced over. Asking about people's commutes, there was sliding and a near-hit incident with a salt truck down a hill. Snow came again last night. It was a little, about 3 inches, 1 on roads, but school was called off. Sources say that, by 9am today, the snow on the roads had melted. A 2-hour delayed opening could have been done. But, all in all, Mont. Co does a good job for the heavy responsibility of 300,000 coeds.

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