LAWTON Okla_ While there's
nothing we can do to stop Mother Nature, local businesses say we can soften her
blow through preparation.
One local hardware store spent Monday morning running around hauling salt
bags and filling their stock of ice-scrapers and shovels. They say they are
already in high demand.
In January of
2011, Comanche County was frozen under a thick sheet of
ice and snow. Tens of thousands of residents were left without power and even
worse: without any means to dig their way out of it.
The hardware store
manager said since then, when Old Man Winter threatens to make an appearance,
people take him seriously and arm themselves for disaster. Winter may be
pounding down on Comanche
County, but home
improvement store manager Scott Johnson said citizens are pushing back, and his
store is arming them.
"We
started this morning," Johnson said, "Bringing out the ice melt, making sure we
had plenty of snow shovels down, snow pushers, and ice-scrapers."
He said the key
to winning the fight against Mother Nature is staying ahead of her. He said
customers were in as early as last week, preparing for today.
"It can
never be too early to get it," Johnson said. "Get it before the snow or ice
storm does come, so you have it on hand in your garage or in your storage area
to put it out when needed."
Johnson said if
you didn't move quickly enough to get to the store, take a look in your garage
and you may be covered.
"Other
than the ice melt, if you can't locate it and you can't get out, you can use
fertilizers like a 10/20/10 that's great for your yard," Johnson said. "It is
safe for the concrete."
While schools
and some business may close their doors under the severe weather, he said
theirs will remain open.
"It's not
an option to close," Johnson said. "We'll always be here for the
customers."
Johnson says
de-icer is directly shipped, and they can have it on hand in 1-2 days. He said
to restock tools, he's looking at a week's time. So, he said if you're not
stocked yet, you might have to wait until after the snow storm to arm yourself
for the next.
