Deposited on the Hotel Royal lot, a lone Christmas tree was toppled in the recent December 23 storm.

White Christmas arrives the night before

December 23 storm blows down Christmas tree

on Hotel Royal property

For well on 15 years or so, the Hotel Royal property had sat vacant, recently seeing a Christmas tree deposited outside with lights, before this was blown down the night before Christmas in blinding snow and wind, later raised up and secured with sandbags. Storms might come, but Christmas would go on.

In a rush to make deadline, a winter storm

Adam Hitts appeared before the Stanley Common Council asking for a temporary variance for his mechanic’s business November 16. Hitts is owner of Here and There Automotive LLC, a business he started in January. Staff photo.

plowed through Stanley-Boyd Country the

night of December 23 into December 24, bringing with it cold, ice, the occasional vehicle

slide-in, and multiple salt opportunities. More

snow is still awaited for proper sledding conditions toboggan chute likely to be out of service once again this year, as safety and motorized vehicle traf_c take precedence over fun and games

on the currently county-maintained highway

stretch once a rival to Perkinstown—or so the legend goes.

Speaking of motorized traf_c, the sudden invasion of the Stanley-Boyd Country by winter after a brief October visit gives pause to revisit those all important winter driving skills, which due to warmer intervening weather can deteriorate from May through Fall. Deterioration is costly when the snowbank digs its teeth in, and leaves you stranded. First things _rst though; what to bring with? First up is getting the car serviced. Having

HOMEPLACE HAPPENINGS

recalls online at www.nhtsa.gov/recalls. Third, “know thy car.” The often unexamined vehicle owner’s manual is a resourcethat shouldn’t be underestimated. Knowing your car’ss features (including a rental) can be important. Keep those _uids like antifreeze stocked, and if it’s a hybrid, make sure the charge doesn’t run low. Evergreens don’t lose their foliage in fall, meaning a breakdown in a pine tree forest is less visible to overhead rescue teams than in trees that drop their leaves. Should

such a happening occur, if being well-stocked

until rescuers see you can make a difference. Plan your route, and stay off those out-of-theway forest roads! Don’t forget to tell someone where you’re going either: it makes large search grids smaller, and can mean the difference between a Paddle” has more on this, and an unsubstantiated theory of D. B. Cooper’s whereabouts, parachuting as he did just before a major snowstorm. But let’s say you’ve done all these things. What should you stock your vehicle with? Among other things, its good to have a small shovel for digging yourself out, along with salt or sand and kitty litter both for traction and snowmelt.

emergency lights, a lighter, and most important of all–or up there anyway–a gas tank that is at least half-full at all times, should you _nd yourself stranded and need to produce heat. Speaking of which, warm winter boots, a blanket, and adequate snow gear in general is also important, along with food, water, and medicine to weather the storm. Ditto a charged cell phone battery or

phone charger, along with battery jumper cables, lest cold temperatures drive the heat and power

away from your electrical horsepower system. So what about recovering from the slip slide effects of glare ice?–on the road, that is.

Should you overpower things and your back end starts to drift, driverseducationusa.

com recommends the following. First, if at all possible, avoid the skid. Don’t

make sharp turns or sudden stops, allow ample distance between you and the person in

front, and in heavy rain or else sleet (as the case may be), please don’t speed. Doing so takes

your tires away from the pavement and makes

you effectively _oat or ‘hydroplane,’ meaning less control. Slowing down in advance of curves is also a good idea. But what if you can’t avoid the skid? In that case, do the following. First, don’t panic! Staying calm and collected is important to getting out unharmed. Next, DO NOT SLAM THE BRAKES. Doing so will make things worse. Be aware of things and detect when your car is in a skid, before it’s too late. After awareness, react quickly, and steer in the direction of the skid. This last one will straighten your tires out. At the same time, _nd a distance on it, thereby telling your brain to react right. Finally, although much of the above applies to rear wheel skids, sront wheel skids can also happen.

In such a case, take your foot off the gas and

press gently on the brakes to put weight on your

car’s front end to reconnect with the pavement. This is one situation where having or regaining control is a good thing. Safe travels!

home-based business in January, going full-time for the past three months. Listed online at its website as located at 809 N. Broadway Street, a complaint by someone to the police had resulted in Hitts learning he was in breach of city ordinance.

“I’m asking and applying for a variance,” he said of his mobile mechanic business for which he was seeking a permanent home, working from his own in the meantime.

“It was ninety percent mobile,” he said of the business started in the country. “The only thing I would have done at the house would have been motors, transmissions, or heater cores,” he told the council, citing the “labor-intensive” nature of these types of jobs as a reason for doing so.

“I have a purchase agreement already lined up,” he said, but he needed the temporary variance in order to purchase a place in town. “If I don’t have it, it would be tougher, or I might possibly not be able to reach the goal to finalize the agreement,” he said. Asking the council for three months as a “realistic” time frame for the variance from city code. “So far it’s been succeeding and growing,” he said of the business he started “out in the country” where there were no ordinances on the matter.

“I am apologizing for not reading through all the ordinances to make sure I was in compliance,” Hitts said. After finding out, he had read 292 pages of local law codes.

“So I am well versed,” he said of city rules. A few council members had questions for Hitts.

“So you’re a resident and your looking to reside in the community?” alderman Mark Fitzsimmons asked. “And your looking at a business “Yes,” Hix said.

to manifest, with the old Franklin Street

“Do you have any concerns or incidents that you’ve had down there?” Kevin Hendrickson asked Chief Lance Weiland of the residential address for Hitts’ business.

“No, we haven’t had any phone calls,” Weiland said from across the chamber. Alderwoman Laurie Foster was the next to question Hitts as he stood before the Council.

“Do you have any…like in case your anti-freeze or you oil, the haz-mat stuff for drainage so it doesn’t seep into the ground?” she asked him.

“Yes,” Hitts said. There were no tracks in the garage and everything was sloped toward

good oil and a vehicle in top condition is important not to break down. After its serviced–or before–check for

On Monday Bernice and Monica went for a walk. In the afternoon, the general store was open. Esther, Sandi, Rosie, Kathy, and Yvonne created feathery turkeys on paper and had a lot of fun doing so. The turkeys were hung up on the wall for everyone to enjoy.Tuesday any resident or tenant that ordered groceries had them bought and delivered to them. Della got to talk with her family via video chat. Rosie and Yvonne played balloon volleyball entertained himself and staff by playing his harmonica. Bernie, and Bernice walked around the block indoors. Esther, Joann, Lorraine, and Sandi played the dice game call “Shut the Box.” Congrats to Joann for winning! Many residents also played the game “Shake Loose a Memory” On Thursday morning , sales were hot at the general store. Sandi, Lorraine, Joann, Della and Monica did some serious shopping. Next, Barb, Bernie, Loren, and Anna received manicures. Les and Susan listened together. being found, and not. The _lm “Without

Wednesday morning Fred

It’s also good to have a _ashlight, _ares or the center.

“So if anything were to happen you just put a load of Floor-Dry and recycle it,” he said of spill precautions. Vehicles were done at the Hitts then asked if he could work from the garage while a final decision was being made.

“Why don’t we pick that up…at the meeting,” Barby said. “Because I’ve got a bunch of questions for you.” With more discussion following, the temporary variance was slated for consideration by the city zoning committee before ethe night was over, with Fitzsimmons making the motion and Barby seconding it.

target of where you want to go and focus

to oldies music and Susan danced to them as well. After lunch, Lorraine and Sandi played 3 rounds of The Price is Right’s “What’s In the Bag?” game. Monica pedaled her bike around in the afternoon when it was warm. Residents also played card games and Rosie played dominoes.

Friday Sandi got her nails done, Esther decorated much of her tree on Friday, Yvonne colored and Kathy walked. A hunting theme word search was handed out and many were completed after lunch.