MANSFIELD — Richland County is under a Level 3 snow emergency as of late Thursday afternoon, ordered by Sheriff Steve Sheldon.
The designation is the highest classification and it means all roads in the county are closed to non-emergency personnel.
According the classification, “No one should be driving during these conditions unless it is absolutely necessary to travel or a personal emergency exists. All employees should contact their employer to see if they should report to work. Those traveling on the roads may subject themselves to arrest.”
“The roads are getting pretty bad out there. My staff and I talked talked to (county EMA Director) Joe Petrycki five or six times and (county engineer) Adam Gove five or six times today and it’s getting kind of treacherous.”
He said the Level 3 designation should help the city, county and ODOT snow plows to do their work. It’s the first time in his 18 years as sheriff that Sheldon has had to declare a Level 3, likely the first time in the county since the 1990s.
“If there is no traffic, the snow plows will be able to operate safer and get the roads cleared more quickly,” Sheldon said.
Sheldon said he spoke to his counterparts in Crawford and Morrow counties and they also were moving to a Level 3.
“With what is coming at us, it’s the right thing to do,” Sheldon said.
Petrycki said he was checking roads in the county and was having some difficulty in his 4-wheel drive truck.
“It’s really, really bad. I passed a lot of cars stuck on hills and having a lot of difficulty,” he said.
The winds are increasing and so is the snow, he said, adding the National Weather Service was anticipating snowfall of a half-inch to an inch per hour through the evening.
The snow may continue to fall until Friday at 7 or 8 a.m., he said.
