Danny Fuller, transportation supervisor for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) in Person County, spoke those words Friday morning, just one day after a surprise snowfall dropped anywhere from two to five inches of snow across the county.

Fuller said that DOT crews began reporting to work at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night, anticipating spreading some salt and sand on bridges and overpasses in an attempt to avoid any slick spots from the flurries that were forecast.

“We came in and starting putting out some sand and salt,” Fuller said. “With the way the snow was coming down, we began scraping the primary roads around 11 [p.m.]”

Fuller said the fact that the snow was concentrated in the northern counties allowed the full complement of Person County’s equipment to be used locally.

“We were lucky that it wasn’t bad down around Durham,” Fuller said. “We got to keep all our equipment up here.”

That meant 13 trucks and six motor graders were out in force on Person County roadways attempting to clear the slushy snow.

“We had the whole county covered by probably [2 p.m.] yesterday afternoon,” Fuller said. “We had a couple of spots down in Woodsdale this morning that we had to go back to, but that was about it.”

Fuller said DOT workers were fortunate in that temperatures did not dip well below freezing as the snow was falling.

“The temperature of the roads, in most places, was not quite cold enough for it to be a real big problem,” Fuller pointed out.

Fuller said DOT crews used “about 100 tons of salt and 200 tons of sand” during efforts Wednesday night and Thursday.

Even with DOT’s efforts, the North Carolina Highway Patrol was still busy answering calls Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

First Sgt. Robert Pearson said Friday that highway patrolman answered six calls Wednesday night, beginning at approximately 9:30 p.m. There were an additional six reported accidents to the Highway Patrol Thursday, ending at about 10 a.m., Pearson said.

“They were all relatively minor, it appears,” Pearson said. “And, I’m sure there were other incidents of people sliding into ditches and things like that, which were not reported to us.”

The surprise snowfall did cause Person County Schools to be cancelled Thursday. The day will be made up, according to School Supt. Dr. Larry W. Cartner on Wednesday, April 23, in accordance with the approved calendar for 2007-08.