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Local Take: What do Ashlanders think of all the snow? An Ashland Publlic Works employee works on clearing a pedestrian footpath in the wake of this week's snow. Photo by Sue Newberry Friday Jan 6, 2017 at 7:49 PM Jan 6, 2017 at 7:49 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Although there will always be those Negative Nancys (or Negative Normans) who have to complain about it, most Ashlanders seem to be enjoying the 10 quintillion snowflakes that fell about 8 inches deep on Jackson County’s 2,803 square miles this week.  It is confirmed by National Geographic that no two snowflakes are alike, so this means you are shoveling and driving around on 10 quintillion unique geometric designs, just in our county. Penn State University scientists estimate the number of snowflakes in a square mile, so using their numbers, you get 10 quintillion, which is 10 followed by 18 zeros, which is 100 billion times more snowflakes — just in Jackson County — than the stars in our galaxy. You can be sure that’s not what Ashlanders were thinking about. The kids, of course, were screaming on Facebook, “Snow day!!!” for four (4) days in a row (Tuesday-Friday; adding in the already scheduled New Year's Day holiday observance Monday, they had all week off). For adult Ashlanders, it meant one of two choices: hunker down at home and post pretty pics on Facebook — or get in your car and drive around to your errands and jobs, hopefully with studded snow tires, keenly judging whether street crews have gotten up early to sand and plow streets. You will remember the Big Snowstorm of December 2013, in which the city seemed to remain paralyzed day after day, with ice and snow piled up and street crews seeming to react like snow was something they’d never seen before. Well, that didn’t happen this time. The reason, says Public Works Director Mike Faught, is timing. Three years ago, it started just before the 5 p.m. rush, so mondo traffic compacted the snow and “there was nothing we could do about it.” This time, it started after everyone was home and they had all night to attack it. City crews worked 24/7 from Tuesday evening, through the rest of the week, with the same crews and same plows and sanders they had three years ago. The white stuff (as journalists call it, looking for a synonym to “snow”) was a beautiful spectacle, both in its falling on Tuesday evening and in its sunny dusting of the majestic Cascades and Siskiyou ranges by Thursday. We asked Ashlanders at the hardware store if the storm, a seeming record depth since 1919, was a lot of fun or a big, annoying ordeal that had better go away soon. An anonymous firefighter (unpictured) — It’s winter in Oregon. What the hell do you expect? I expect snow. It snows every year except when we have a drought. There are a lot of scary people driving the roads. I have a four-wheel, so I’m OK. I’m with the fire department and we have a rule that if one of us gets his name in the paper, he has to buy ice cream for everyone (Editor's note: This actually seems to be the case, as reported in multiple locations over an extended period of time. Still, what's a little ice cream?). Tony Efstratiadis — I love it. That’s why I moved here from Kentucky. I dug my car out. The street maintenance I would say is below par. I love the cold, clean, crisp air. Ross Albertson — It’s just another day. It’s winter. You have to drive carefully. You have to give other drivers a lot of room. There are a lot of amateur snow drivers out there. I prepare for it in the fall, get the pipes drained and covered, the windows and doors sealed. Susan Bizeau — I enjoy it a lot because I got a new dog, who has never seen snow and it’s great to see her jump like a goat and try to chase snowballs, but of course she can’t find the snowballs in the snow. I didn’t drive on Wednesday. I have an SUV that’s good in snow. I’m from Kansas City, which gets 6 to 8 inches a couple times a year so I’m thankful I know how to drive in it. Mike Nelson — I am enjoying it tremendously. All weather is good. It’s a nice change. We need the snow pack a lot. I have a four-wheel, but I recognize it’s slick out there and the city is not set up for this. They don’t have the infrastructure. Ted Susu-Mago — I rather enjoy it and find it challenging. I like the change in weather. I like the white. I’m being positive about it. We live on a hill and it’s challenging. The plows have done a pretty good job of keeping it gaveled and plowed. There’s still a lot of slipping and sliding. I got chains on now. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected].