Hello winter, we’ve been waiting for you

One way to embrace all this snow is to just, well, embrace it like this youngster on Botsford did on Monday.

By Charles Sercombe
Winter hit Hamtramck and the metro area with a one-two punch this week.
Monday started out with the third highest snowfall since the state began recording such things back in the late 1800s. A little over 16 inches of snow slammed down on the region starting on Sunday.
And while many were still digging out, a bitter cold spell settled in on Thursday, plunging temperatures down to the single digits — and with the wind chill factored in, well below zero.
The massive amount of snow paralyzed many schools, including Hamtramck Public Schools which closed down for three days.
Hamtramck took the unusual step in plowing not only the main streets and emergency fire lanes, but also all the side streets, said City Manager Katrina Powell.
“I think the staff and contractors did a great job,” she said. “Was it perfect? No, as there is always room for improvement, but overall I think everyone stepped up and got it done as quickly as possible. I’m told it’s certainly better than last year’s response time and I’ve been told that most everyone was pleased that we decided to plow the side streets before ice set in with the frigid temperatures of last night and the temperature predictions for the rest of the week.”
The snowfall just happened to coincide with the city’s crack down on residents saving parking spaces in front of their residences with furniture or other items – which has been a longtime custom.

Sunday’s snowstorm meant spending time digging out your car.

While residents were warned a few weeks ago that they would receive tickets if they continued the practice, it was pretty much ignored this week.
In fact, even Mayor Karen Majewski staked out her parking space with two chairs.
Asked about her own act of defiance she had this to say: “whoop de doo. … We (she and her husband) spent hours digging out our spots. So give me a ticket.”
Despite the blast of winter, there was little complaining about the season so far, which pales in comparison to last year’s record amount of snowfall and unrelenting arctic cold.
For some, it was, well, different. Take for example City Manager Katrina Powell, who just moved here in December from warm and sunny Florida.
“What a great way to be broken in to Michigan winters! 🙂 LOVE it!” she said in an email.

Despite the city’s recent crackdown on using pieces of furniture to save a parking space, many residents ignored that, including the mayor’s house where this photo was taken.