(Photo by Randy Rutherford) Children enjoy sled riding in Sistersville during a storm that dumped 7 inches of snow on the region.

Sistersville received its first real taste of winter on Sunday and Monday, January 5th and 6th when roughly seven inches of snow blanketed the city and surrounding areas. On Monday the streets of Sistersville resembled a ghost town as every business, including the banks, were closed for the day. Naturally, the snow canceled all schools as well as the Courthouse in Middlebourne. All athletic contests scheduled for Monday night were also postponed to a later date. The street crews worked non-stop clearing the city streets while the Department of Highways made sure the highways were as clear as possible. Fortunately, the predicted ice storm did not materialize, and snow was the only problem facing the street crew.

The cold temperatures didn’t stop kids from getting outside to enjoy the extended Christmas break. Local neighborhoods were busy with children bundled up heavily sledding and building forts. We suspect there were lots of cups of coco being served when kids came home to warm up.

Tom Cooper, director of the Office of Emergency Management, was happy to report that there were no major issues in the county because of the storm, but both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings saw classes canceled in area schools with some businesses remaining closed, too. Extremely cold temperatures are predicted for the next several days with the return of snow as a strong possibility. As always if you do not need to be on the highways the safest place is at home.