Citizens help clear Dennison’s roads after snowstorm

DENNISON (WJER) (Jan. 18, 2022) – A couple of residents with commercial driver’s licenses have been getting behind the wheel of the village’s plow truck.

Mayor Greg DiDonato expected to have most of the snow and ice removed from the roads by Wednesday morning thanks to the efforts of former street department worker Erin Burdette and retired Twin City Water and Sewer Superintendent John Rypien.

“I mean we just made a 100-percent turnaround, going from being behind because they got one truck and a mass amount of snow to boom, really get the streets and alleys cleaned up, and we’re going to continue going to continue going through the night.” 

DiDonato says the two of them and resident Jack Grove offered to help with cleanup when the village found itself short-handed ahead of the winter storm that dropped roughly a foot of snow on the village. 

“We were open and we were honest with everybody. We were dealing with people being sick. OUr hands are tied. There’s not much we can do about it, and we’re all dealing with that across the country. At the end of the day, it took some good citizens who had the ability to drive a plow truck and they were qualified, and they came in and they really helped us.”

The village usually has two plow truck drivers but one was out sick. DiDonato says he’s considering starting a list of people they can call in so the village doesn’t end up in this position again. 

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