A blast of winter weather hit Butler’s campuses over the weekend of Jan. 23-26, covering everything in 8 inches of snow and hitting 6 degrees below zero Monday morning. Campus police and facilities were both involved in getting everything ready for the start of classes the following week.
Butler Police Deputy Chief Kevin Leiker said the police often take the initiative in preparation for winter storms.
“(We watch) the weather and see where it's coming, and then usually the supervisors come to a decision if they're going to close school or not, depending on how bad the perceived threat will be,” Leiker said.
“Usually (students) get an alert on the Grizzly Safe app, or they'll get email or texts with whatever things they need to do.”
After the storm, the police inspected the buildings and reported any issues to facilities.
“Our officers are supposed to, in their daily duties, go around, check the buildings, make sure no pipes have been broken or doors have been left open - basic stuff. Then they can report that to facilities, and that issue, whatever it may be, can be fixed,” Leiker said.
Ireland Turner, Director of Facilities and Maintenance at Butler, oversees the everyday operational maintenance of the college. Turner said that facilities had also anticipated the coming storm.
“We began preparing for the storm earlier in the week, ensuring all equipment was ready and snowplows were installed on the trucks. Once the equipment was prepared, we held a staff meeting to review individual duties and assigned locations, so that when everyone arrived, they knew exactly where to go and what tasks to complete. We also ensured that all exterior buildings, including the stadium, were properly winterized in preparation for the extreme cold,” Turner said.
The storm hit hard that Friday, but the facilities team was fully prepared for the work of clearing Butler’s campuses before classes started again Monday morning.
“We had a couple dozen (workers) on our two main campuses working over the weekend, both Saturday and Sunday,” said Turner.
“We use a combination of equipment, including eight snowplow trucks, several tractors, skid loaders, and snow blowers. Preparing the campuses for stakeholders typically takes a full day with a lot of manpower.”
Even though the facilities team did a lot over the wintery weekend, Turner said their job was far from over.
“Winter storms present ongoing challenges - especially when temperatures hover near zero, as they did during the most recent storm,” Turner said. “While we were fortunate to only receive approximately 8 inches of drier snow that was easier to remove, the extreme cold significantly reduced the effectiveness of ice melt after parking lots and sidewalks were cleared. Severe cold conditions slow operations and place added physical strain on staff.”
“Despite these challenges, I was very pleased with the dedication and effort demonstrated by the team last week to ensure the campus was ready for the start of classes on Monday.”
Kevin Leiker, Butler Police Department. (Photo by Isaac Rich)
Ireland Turner, Director of Facilities and Maintenance at Butler. (Photo by Isaac Rich)
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