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Downed branches blocked walkways around campus, including this sidewalk outside the administration building on North Campus.

The Diamond Dogs take a break from shoveling snow at Foley Field to have a snowball fight.

A fallen tree looms over a sidewalk outside of Boggs Hall dormitory.

Injuries, damage galore as weather wreaks havoc

By: JOANN ANDERSON

Posted: 3/4/09

Though the University was scheduled to run under normal operating hours Tuesday, for some it was hardly business as usual as many braved icy conditions and downed trees to get to campus.

Injuries, delayed buses and canceled classes persisted as some road conditions around town and spots around campus remained icy.

The Health Center was busy treating many injuries from students and staff Tuesday, said Liz Rachun, the coordinator for the Health Center.

Though exact numbers were unavailable, Rachun said that some were "pretty graphic" - including cut chins, injured tailbones and fractured elbows.

"We wouldn't see this on a normal day, there probably have been numbers more," Rachun said.

Campus Transit drivers reported seeing injuries happen during their routes, said Ron Hamlin, manager of Campus Transit.

"We had quite a few reports seeing people slip on sidewalks, getting off the bus," he said.

Campus Transit had difficulties getting routes started this morning, Hamlin said.

Though staff was at the Transit depot lot at 4 a.m. to prepare for the day, "when the temperatures dropped, the lot got iced in and we couldn't get moving. It wasn't safe for us to leave at that point," Hamlin said.

He also said that some drivers had difficulties reporting to work because of road conditions.

The Physical Plant had to be called at 6 a.m. to shovel buses out and sand the parking lot, Hamlin said. Though some routes usually begin at 6 a.m., the conditions put other routes an hour behind, but Hamlin said all routes were operating by 9:30 a.m.

But other problems persisted for Transit drivers. Icy conditions on campus roads, such as Fulton Street and University Court, made it difficult to run routes on those roads. A car accident near College Station Road Tuesday morning also delayed bus schedules, Hamlin said.

"It was a snowball effect, one after another," he said. "These things were preventing us from getting our services out on the streets."

Meanwhile, students voiced their concerns about the bus schedule.

"I think that there was no communication to the students that the buses were not running at a certain period of time, and if that was the case then classes should have been halted until noon or canceled for the day," said Chares Trumbo, a senior from Lexington, Ky. "It seems like a big university such as UGA would be prepared and organized about situations like this."

"If the roads are so icy that the buses can't get students to class on time, then obviously the decision to keep the school open today was a poor one," said Kayla Calhoun, a sophomore from Colquitt. "Also, they can clear the roads that the buses travel on all they want, but what about those of us who aren't on the bus system whose cars are still under 5 inches of ice? Is the University going to come and clear off my car and driveway too?"

"I was supposed to walk a mile across campus for an 8 a.m. class in the ice and snow? If the buses can't run, we have no business walking, that's my opinion," said Brandon Baker, a freshman from Acworth.

Others were wary about walking in the icy conditions and the decision to have classes.

"I've almost slipped and fallen a couple of times," said Linh Quach, a senior from Athens.

"I don't know whose discretion it was up to, but I feel it was a pretty bad choice," said Crystal Villarreal, a junior from Stockbridge.

Villareal said the majority of her classes were canceled today. One professor canceled because he did not have power at his home, and another decided to cancel after receiving several e-mails from students who said they would not make it to class because of the icy road conditions.

- Contributing: Dallas Duncan and Shanessa Fakour.