Jan. 24, 12:44 EDT
City digs out after wintry blast
Jacquie De Almeida and Paul Legall
The Hamilton Spectator
About 75 people were shepherded into Hutch's beach-front restaurant after their vehicles were stranded on the Lake Ontario shoreline during Saturday's snow storm.
An 83-year-old woman travelling with her granddaughter had to be carried into the restaurant by Hamilton Constable Mark Stringer, who engineered the impromptu rescue operation along with Constable Jason Cattle. The woman was too weak to walk through the high snow drifts that were forming around the vehicle and Stringer picked her up and carried her about 50 metres to the restaurant.
Cattle said about 60 to 75 vehicles were stuck in the snow when he and his partner arrived at about 3 p.m. Heavy winds were blowing off the lake and causing drifting and white-out conditions along the beach strip. "The vehicles were all stuck in a line (behind a large truck) and they couldn't go anywhere," Cattle said during a telephone call from Hutch's.
The popular beach strip eatery was closed for the winter. But Stringer knew the owner and got permission to use the premises as a temporary shelter until the road could be plowed and vehicles removed. Although he didn't appear in person, the owner said to put on the coffee pot for the temporary refugees and make them as comfortable as possible. "It's heated, they had pot of coffee and they could use the washroom. It doesn't get much better in a snow storm," Cattle said.
He said the motorists left in stages after the snow plows arrived and they were able to move their vehicles. The elderly woman was among the last to go, carried out to her vehicle at about 5 p.m..
Staff Sergeant Bob Maxwell said his officers went "above and beyond" by leading the stranded motorists to shelter.
The travellers stranded at Hutch's were among hundreds of motorists forced to abandon their vehicles and find temporary shelter in hotels, police stations and fire stations as a thick blanket of snow fell over the city. By mid-afternoon, a snow emergency was declared and motorists were advised to keep off the roads.
Maxwell said traffic problems were most severe in east Hamilton because of drifting snow and high winds off the lake. He said police directed stranded motorists to a number of area hotels where they booked rooms and waited out the storm. A number of people also popped up at the east-end police station, including a dialysis patient in her seventies who was trying to get to the hospital.
She remained at the station for more than a hour before an ambulance picked her up and took her to St. Joseph Healthcare where she underwent dialysis. The treatment is crucial for patients whose kidneys have failed and no longer remove toxins from their blood.
Maxwell said the storm brought out the best in people.
"It just seemed that everybody was doing something and everyone worked so hard."
Lori-Ann Woodfine, guest services manager at the Comfort Inn on Centennial Parkway, said she booked more than 30 rooms to stranded motorists. She also had to turn away about 20 people seeking shelter from the storm because all her rooms were booked by mid-afternoon. She said many of the stranded motorists had come off the QEW, a few blocks away.
"They wanted to go to the mall but it was closed. I offered them coffee and tea while they got their bearings," she said.
Bernadine Ubdegrove and her foster grandchildren, Hayley, 9, and Dakota, 7, were lucky to find a hotel room. The trio drove in from Owen Sound to visit the kids' grandmother who lives on Hamilton Mountain.
The drive in wasn't too bad but by 3 p.m., Ubdegrove decided she couldn't risk the two-hour trip home in the snowy conditions.
"We were going to leave early but are staying instead," she said from the dining room of the Admiral Inn on Dundurn Street North.
"We don't even have a comb but we'll manage. We're not too worried. It's an adventure," she said, explaining this is the first time the children have spent the night in a hotel. "I get to have the bed to myself," Dakota said, jumping out of his seat.
Sarnia residents Jeff MacDonald and Regan Pfaff were already planning on staying overnight in Hamilton but plans to tour Dundurn Castle were put on hold when it was closed due to the storm. The pair's usual one-hour drive into the city took 2 1/2 hours and the treacherous driving conditions made for some close calls.
"We figured we missed it but drove right through the middle of it," said MacDonald.
"I just tried to stay between the fence posts," he said, adding cars were sliding all over the road and he was grateful for his new 4 x 4 truck.
Visibility on the roads was poor and the most they could do was keep their eyes on the car ahead of them, said Pfaff. "We saw a bunch of cars going through red lights because they couldn't see them."
jdealmeida@thespec.com
905-526-3214
plegall@thespec.com
905-526-3385
City digs out after wintry blast
Jacquie De Almeida and Paul Legall
The Hamilton Spectator
About 75 people were shepherded into Hutch's beach-front restaurant after their vehicles were stranded on the Lake Ontario shoreline during Saturday's snow storm.
An 83-year-old woman travelling with her granddaughter had to be carried into the restaurant by Hamilton Constable Mark Stringer, who engineered the impromptu rescue operation along with Constable Jason Cattle. The woman was too weak to walk through the high snow drifts that were forming around the vehicle and Stringer picked her up and carried her about 50 metres to the restaurant.
Cattle said about 60 to 75 vehicles were stuck in the snow when he and his partner arrived at about 3 p.m. Heavy winds were blowing off the lake and causing drifting and white-out conditions along the beach strip. "The vehicles were all stuck in a line (behind a large truck) and they couldn't go anywhere," Cattle said during a telephone call from Hutch's.
The popular beach strip eatery was closed for the winter. But Stringer knew the owner and got permission to use the premises as a temporary shelter until the road could be plowed and vehicles removed. Although he didn't appear in person, the owner said to put on the coffee pot for the temporary refugees and make them as comfortable as possible. "It's heated, they had pot of coffee and they could use the washroom. It doesn't get much better in a snow storm," Cattle said.
He said the motorists left in stages after the snow plows arrived and they were able to move their vehicles. The elderly woman was among the last to go, carried out to her vehicle at about 5 p.m..
Staff Sergeant Bob Maxwell said his officers went "above and beyond" by leading the stranded motorists to shelter.
The travellers stranded at Hutch's were among hundreds of motorists forced to abandon their vehicles and find temporary shelter in hotels, police stations and fire stations as a thick blanket of snow fell over the city. By mid-afternoon, a snow emergency was declared and motorists were advised to keep off the roads.
Maxwell said traffic problems were most severe in east Hamilton because of drifting snow and high winds off the lake. He said police directed stranded motorists to a number of area hotels where they booked rooms and waited out the storm. A number of people also popped up at the east-end police station, including a dialysis patient in her seventies who was trying to get to the hospital.
She remained at the station for more than a hour before an ambulance picked her up and took her to St. Joseph Healthcare where she underwent dialysis. The treatment is crucial for patients whose kidneys have failed and no longer remove toxins from their blood.
Maxwell said the storm brought out the best in people.
"It just seemed that everybody was doing something and everyone worked so hard."
Lori-Ann Woodfine, guest services manager at the Comfort Inn on Centennial Parkway, said she booked more than 30 rooms to stranded motorists. She also had to turn away about 20 people seeking shelter from the storm because all her rooms were booked by mid-afternoon. She said many of the stranded motorists had come off the QEW, a few blocks away.
"They wanted to go to the mall but it was closed. I offered them coffee and tea while they got their bearings," she said.
Bernadine Ubdegrove and her foster grandchildren, Hayley, 9, and Dakota, 7, were lucky to find a hotel room. The trio drove in from Owen Sound to visit the kids' grandmother who lives on Hamilton Mountain.
The drive in wasn't too bad but by 3 p.m., Ubdegrove decided she couldn't risk the two-hour trip home in the snowy conditions.
"We were going to leave early but are staying instead," she said from the dining room of the Admiral Inn on Dundurn Street North.
"We don't even have a comb but we'll manage. We're not too worried. It's an adventure," she said, explaining this is the first time the children have spent the night in a hotel. "I get to have the bed to myself," Dakota said, jumping out of his seat.
Sarnia residents Jeff MacDonald and Regan Pfaff were already planning on staying overnight in Hamilton but plans to tour Dundurn Castle were put on hold when it was closed due to the storm. The pair's usual one-hour drive into the city took 2 1/2 hours and the treacherous driving conditions made for some close calls.
"We figured we missed it but drove right through the middle of it," said MacDonald.
"I just tried to stay between the fence posts," he said, adding cars were sliding all over the road and he was grateful for his new 4 x 4 truck.
Visibility on the roads was poor and the most they could do was keep their eyes on the car ahead of them, said Pfaff. "We saw a bunch of cars going through red lights because they couldn't see them."
jdealmeida@thespec.com
905-526-3214
plegall@thespec.com
905-526-3385
