The week of Feb. 14-20 saw record low temperatures in Springfield that haven’t been felt since 1989. Rolling blackouts were a new wrench, as were considerations for online classes if students could not meet in-person due to weather. 

David Hinson is the executive vice president and chief of staff at Drury University. He responded to questions from the Mirror via email. Hinson detailed the Drury response to winter weather, and how in-person classes came to be canceled for the week. 

Springfield Public Schools (SPS) and colleges have their own decision-making process. Although they communicate with each other, some may choose to open on time while others will have a delayed start. The choice comes down to institution capabilities of clearing snow and ice. 

“It doesn’t make one school right, and the other schools wrong. These external weather calls inform, but do not dictate, what each school does regarding opening. Being a public school or a private school has no bearing over whether a school closes or not,” Hinson said. 

Forecasts do not determine school closings, and rain changing into ice is one of the trickiest to call. It falls in a narrow temperature range, and it is difficult to pre-treat sidewalks because rain will wash away the ice melt.  

Snow is easier to clear – once it stops falling. Operations to clear campus may pause to allow for snow to finish falling or for rain to transition to ice. 

“Determining how soon campus can be cleared – and then opened – is a function of how many persons can clear the snow on the ground with our equipment in house, or contractor labor that we bring in to assist with snow removal – and the time of day which we can begin tackling the weather removal efforts,” Hinson explained. 

The only roads Drury is responsible for clearing are the internal ones on campus: Drury Lane and Bob Barker Blvd. Benton, Jefferson, Calhoun and the rest fall under city jurisdiction. 

“Making these decisions is by its nature inexact, based upon the best data available from external sources… and our ‘eyes on the ground’ – our facilities and staff. We do the best we can,” Hinson said. 

Feb. 14-20 was unique – the lengthy, severe cold impacted pipes and boilers across campus. The Friday cancellation decision was made to give the mechanical systems time to recover and receive repairs. 

“[Last] week our sprinkler system in the TSC froze, causing several sprinkler heads to break, causing significant water damage to the building,” Hinson stated. 

Even without cancellation calls, the TSC remained closed all week to ensure leaks were repaired, water removed and the sprinkler system was “safely re-commissioned.” 

“The rolling blackouts were a new wrinkle, in a year of new wrinkles,” said Hinson. 

Issued by City Utilities and the Southwest Power Pool, rolling blackouts occurred on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Rotating sections of the city, including Drury, experienced loss of power for 30-60 minutes to regulate electricity and natural gas in the wake of the extreme cold. 

“Rolling blackouts have not factored into past decisions to close and did not factor into decisions to close [last] week,” Hinson said. “If anything, they are a trailing indicator of the impact of prolonged deep cold and its effect on the regional power grid.” 

Thankfully, certain buildings that are vital to student welfare, such as the Commons, were not affected by the rolling blackouts or campus closure. The Mirror talked with Jim Fenton, the Director of Dining Services at Drury, via email to explain how students can be sure they’ll be fed even in times of difficult weather. 

One way that Drury makes sure food is available is by not closing the Commons, regardless of whether the rest of campus is open or not.  

“The Commons do not operate differently when campus is closed,” Fenton said. “The dining hall stays open with the same hours and general menu format for our residential students.  If there were to be any changes to our normal operations, we would be sure to communicate any changes in advance and make accommodations for any students in need.” 

The CX, however, does close, but only to make sure that the Commons is able to stay open and adequately staffed.  

“Yes, we will generally close the CX if campus is closed,” said Fenton. “Then, we are able to make sure the Commons is sufficiently staffed by recruiting team members who normally work in the CX to fill in any staffing gaps there may be because team members who normally work in the Commons are not able to safely make it in because of weather conditions.” 

Ultimately, it’s due to the dedication of Drury’s Dining Services staff that ensures that no one on campus goes hungry.  

Fenton praised his Dining Services team saying, “We have a great team that make it in to work no matter what!  Letty, Jackie, Bob, Martin, Dallas, Rhonda, Jake, and Tim made it in to work from off campus every day this week!  So many other team members gave their best effort and also made it in to work every day that it was safely possible.  We also recruit all of the great student employees who live on campus to help us out as much as possible since they can make it to work without having to drive. Thank you team!” 

If you have any questions regarding Dining Services at Drury, Jim Fenton can be reached at jfenton@freshideasfood.com.
 

Students who experience problems with their water heaters and heating systems should contact campus facilities at 417-873-7879 or campus security at 417-873-7911. Campus housing can also be reached at housing.drury.edu. 

Article by Maclen Johnson and Sammie Ellis.