Intermittent snows over the weekend caused no end of trouble for Newtown’s Department of Public Works.

With 1,000 hours of overtime across DPW employees, especially plow drivers, the on again, off again snow, combined with freezing conditions causing ice, kept crews busy over the entire weekend while most of the rest of us sheltered indoors in our warm houses, staying away from the potentially dangerous road conditions.

Workers were out in their vehicles for well over their normal hours, putting in time to make Newtown roads safe for all to travel, from emergency vehicles to commuters to those needing to pick up a few things at the grocery store. In our story about the January 16 and 17 snow storms (see page 5), Hurley noted that intermittent snow is not a “normal occurrence,” so having to send the town’s trucks out again and again is not something that must normally be done, but Newtown’s highway department employees rose to the challenge.

But it is the DPW’s job to alleviate those dangerous conditions and make the roads passable again, which they always do with efficiency and professionalism. Those of us who work in town but live elsewhere often breathe a sigh of relief when we leave roads in other towns and cross onto the well-maintained roads of Newtown.

And it is not just the snow removal, it is treating the roads with sand and salt, all important to help prevent drivers from damaging their cars by sliding on black ice.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley, a veteran of over 20 years with the town, should be commended for leading such a stellar department, and he often is. All our DPW employees should be commended, and thanked for their hard work, both over the past weekend and the other 24/7/365.