Hard on workers but great for ice carnival

By Dan Hust
LIBERTY — January 25 — Baby, it's cold outside.
Nobody knows that better than Liberty Highway Supt. Tim Pellam, whose team has spent the past few days clearing out frozen sluice pipes.
The worst part?
The wind chill, he admits of temperatures that have dipped to -10 in the county this week.
That makes Liberty's crew exceedingly efficient.
"We usually know where the bad spots are," he says.
Such knowledge is born from years of experience grabbing the Carhartts and trekking out on Liberty's winding roads.
Anyone who's had to venture outside even just a few minutes these past few days can attest it's brutal.
"It's about as cold as it's been at any time in the last four years in the northeast part of the country," affirms Accuweather meteorologist Elliot Abrams.
And the deep freeze won't break until next week, at the earliest. Forecasters predict below-freezing temperatures at least until Tuesday, with a bit of snow thrown in the mix later today.
Then again, as uncomfortably cold as it is, we haven't broken any records. The National Weather Service says the record low for our area was set in 2005: -13 degrees Fahrenheit.
Still, daytime highs are barely getting above 10, and highway departments like Liberty's have thus ensured local roads don't even have a chance to get slick.
"We've put down double the salt," says Pellam. "They're all white."
He's ready for whatever Mother Nature throws at the region later today.
"The way the roads are," Pellam adds, "they're 'pre-treated' right now!"
Ice can be nice
Besides Holiday Mountain, there is at least one other place grateful for this cold snap.
"We were hoping for cold weather this week," said Lee Siegel of Livingston Manor.
The 54th Annual Livingston Manor Rotary Ice Carnival actually had to be postponed from earlier this month, but rest assured, it's going to happen this weekend at Rotary Park in the Manor.
"The Ice Carnival is on," affirmed Siegel, one of the Rotarians long involved with the popular winter event.
While it's gotten harder for a dwindling Rotarian group to dedicate time to spraying the skating rink with water that freezes to about 3-4 inches, they were out day and night this week getting it done.
"We're trying to keep the tradition going," Siegel said.
See for yourself: festivities get under way at 9 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday). More info is available in today's pages!