It’s been a week since the snow began to fall in Moose Jaw and the repercussions are ongoing.
“It was called a little bit insane,” said Marilyn Carter, secretary dispatcher for Walker Enterprises, which owns Walker’s Towing and Amil’s Taxi. “You get behind a little bit for something like that, but then you catch up.”
She said in the first few days of the storm, Walker’s Towing dealt with more people getting stuck than having to tow vehicles. She added that Thursday was a busy day, but all in all since the weekend “it has settled down a bit.”
“Nobody seemed to be prepared for it,” said Carter. “People should be prepared for winter in Saskatchewan.”
She said it was so bad over the weekend that they had to bring in three extra drivers for a total of seven drivers working during the storm.
“We had everybody going,” said Carter. “You always have to have drivers on call that don’t work regularly but they come in when you call them when a storm hits.”
She said being busy in the winter or during a snowfall is not out of the ordinary.
“I’m so used to it. I’ve been doing it for so many years that it just doesn’t throw me for a loop anymore,” said Carter. “It’s pretty hard on new people because they’re not ready for it … Most of our guys, even our new ones, have been here for just about a year now.”
She said Amil’s Taxi had a lot of calls, particularly over the weekend, and is still busy.
“It was insane because it was hard for the tow trucks and the taxis to get around at the same time, as it is for other people,” said Carter. “We had cab drivers getting stuck too, but they were pretty good at getting themselves out.”
The snowstorm caused similar problems and other challenges for Moose Jaw and District EMS “here and there,” said Ray Francis, paramedic and director of community relations and training with the Moose Jaw and District EMS.
For more information, see an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
