Dismissal then to Work and Snow Arrives
Getting ready to head to the DeKalb County Courthouse, I am listening to the morning news announce the deaths of two police officers from the DeKalb Police Department. Both apparently ambushed while working an off-duty security job at an apartment complex. Losing one officer is bad enough, but two at the same time is even worse and I say a prayer for the families of the slain officer’s before heading out.
The waiting room of the DeKalb County Jury room is no longer on the 1st floor but on the 5th floor in better surroundings though some in the large group that had been called in (317in all) were hot because of the cranky heating system. I looked on the bright side, better to be overly warm than getting chills. Only about a 1/3rd of the group was selected and we were released to go where ever we needed to be, I headed back to the cop shop arriving in time to give a co-worker a lunch break. We were short again with another co-worker out sick and as the afternoon progressed we were busy with fingerprinting and walk-in background checks.
With no news only rumors, the hunt for the killers of the slain police officers had triggered what is turning out to be the largest manhunt in Georgia history. All the stops have been pulled out and other cop shops are following leads and executing search warrants. Some leads have developed but nothing substantial; or that can be proven. Attention turns away from the manhunt to the weather and it is proving to be a surprise than some had not expected to happen till later Wednesday evening.
Snow and lots of it were beginning to fall and in some areas it melted while in others it began sticking along with the sleet. By 6 PM, as I walked out into the parking lot the Nissan Versa, normally silver was white. The car was covered with snow, from the hood to the hatchback. I had to give the heaters a bit of time to warm up to help keep the snow and ice clear.
I took the CVT transmission out of overdrive for the trip home, letting the low end torque be the rule of the commute instead of power. The Michelin HydroEdge tires were doing ok as there was no snow or ice present, just the cold water as the snow hit the pavement.
It is interesting at the moment as one can hear the falling sleet striking the trees outside the house. This is the first year without the motor home that used to sit alongside the house and its rubber roof one could hear the fall of sleet or heavy rain rather loudly. Of course with that gone, all we can hear is it hitting the trees.
My dog Rusty had to be encouraged to go outside, and he of course walking upon the fresh fallen snow in the backyard walked comically; in stiff-legged fashion unsure of what he was walking on until he entered an area shielded by the house then he took off at a dead run for the short distance but skidded to a halt when he came out of the shadow of the house and back onto the fallen snow. Being a Georgia raised Jack Russell, he has had little exposure to these kinds of weather conditions and whenever it does snow the stiff legged walk returns.
The Vista Weather Bug displaying the temperature at 32 degrees we still have frozen rain and sleet falling but are benefitting from road surfaces being too warm though I think a lot of people will be lulled into a false sense of security and will ignore bridge and raised roadway surfaces in the morning to find themselves doing three-sixties if not careful. I figure I can use the debris from wrecked 4X4’s in the morning for traction aid if it comes to that since so many perceive four-wheel drive is a go anywhere vehicle. Sorry to bust the soccer mom’s with those huge 4 x4 Suburban’s, Expedition’s or other monster 4 x 4’s will discover they are just about useless on ice. (Which reminds me, perhaps I will charge up the video camera tonight so it can be ready to record for posterity with a chance to appear on America’s Funniest Home Video’s as transplanted Yankee’s try to drive down or up an icy Georgia hill.)
Have a great week. Stay toasty, safe and warm.
Stephen E Sauls
Chamblee, GA USA
