KEYSER — Stung by criticism of its plowing effort during the December storm that dumped 20 inches on the region, city of Keyser officials worked Thursday to prep their plows and set a game plan that will maximize personnel for what could once more be an around-the-clock plowing effort for today’s expected storm.
Forecasts Thursday called for blizzard-like conditions Friday and Saturday, with the snow projected to start around 10 a.m. and accumulate up to 24 inches.
Keyser City Councilman Dave Sowers, the commissioner of streets, said the city is knocking down departmental walls and will employ personnel from the sewer and water departments to assist the street crews in plowing and removing snow.
“In times of an emergency, we say ‘You don’t work for water or sewer, you work for the public
works department,’” Sowers said.
The city will employ seven plows for the effort, including two heavy-duty dump trucks and four-wheel-drive pickups. While the December storm caught the city unawares, with three of the trucks initially out of service and in need of repair, this time around the entire fleet is checked out, gassed up and ready to go.
“We’ve got everything ready to roll,” said Sowers, who was working in consultation with Mayor William “Sonny” Rhodes to coordinate the plowing.
Up the river in Piedmont, town employees were also gearing up for the impending snowstorm predicted to be similar to the one that slammed the area in December.
There, they only have two plows and a caterpiller to keep the streets clean.
According to Town Clerk Betsy Rice, the snowy winter has put a strain on the town’s budget.
“There’s been a lot of overtime and a lot of expense in salt,” she said Thursday, noting that the town is currently on its third shipment of salt. Once Friday’s storm is cleaned up, “we’ll have to take a look and see if we need any  more,” she said.
On Thursday Keyser had  received delivery of another 50 tons of salt at its city garage off of Water Street. The city has used 125 tons so far this winter, at about $115 a ton.
Expecting significant accumulations, the city is already planning to not only plow the snow, but truck it out from downtown and other congested areas. Officials are also looking hopefully toward Charleston, in anticipation of an emergency declaration from the governor. If such a declaration is issued, the city will be able to call in contractors to assist with plowing and snow removal.
“We’ll pay for it and then the state will reimburse us” if an emergency is declared, Sowers said.
 Even with all the preparations being made, a major snowstorm could still bog down the plowing effort. Sowers urged residents not to travel in the storm, and asked for patience. The last snowfall saw city plow crews working 22 hours straight.
“Our guys are just great,” the councilman said. “They’ll be running the trucks around the clock if they have to.”

Liz Beavers contributed to this story.