Slick Roads Close Many Green Country Schools Again

A winter storm blew through eastern Oklahoma Wednesday shutting down schools for a second day and creating a mess for some drivers.

Dozens of districts canceled classes again Thursday.  

List Of School Closings

At Tulsa Public Schools, they have four managers who drive city streets after winter storms to see if they are safe for buses; Wednesday, News On 6 got to ride along with one of those managers.

It wasn't a pretty sight Wednesday as snow and sleet pelted the TPS bus fleet.

The district's top priority on after a winter storm is to find out if buses can safely maneuver the streets in order to get the thousands of students to school; that's where terminal manager Donnel Young comes in.

3/4/2015 Related Story: Green Country Braces As Winter Weather Blows In

He is one of four TPS managers who drive the side streets and school parking lots before anyone else has to for the morning commute to school.

"Unless we can get some trucks in here and sand it down our units come through and it could be challenging," he said.

Young said the school buses, even if weighed down by children, can be difficult to stop if conditions are poor.

"Once you break traction there's no stopping it," he said.

A number of city schools are nestled inside those neighborhoods.

"This is a very congested area at Jackson, just look at the road, this is slick,” Young said.