Darke County buried in snow

GREENVILLE, Ohio (WDTN) - The deadly winter storm has killed one person so far, in Indiana.

Many counties were buried in white on Friday night, with sheriff's officials asking drivers to stay home. The snow had all but shut down Darke County.

Sheriff's officials said about eight inches of snow had piled up on the ground, as of Friday night. The wet, heavy snow weighed down power lines, causing scattered outtages throughout the county. DP&L officals estimated about a hundred customers were without power.

"It's slick, very treacherous. If you have to be out be careful, drive safely and no clowning," cautioned Jerry Wirt, a Darke County resident. who said he was out in the snow emergency, because he was moving into his new home that day.

Sheriff's officials had issued a level 3 snow emergency in Darke County. That meant all streets and highways were closed, and only emergency personnel or those going to and coming from work, were allowed to be out.

Sheriff's officials responded to more than 60 crashes and slide offs, since 10 a.m. on Friday morning.

Officials wanted drivers off the the roads, to give room to snow plow operators to do their job. They had been scraping and salting roads all day, but the snow was coming down too fast to make a difference.

"No it's not getting any better," said Dennis Neff, a Darke County snow plow operator.

The county garage was a busy place. A crew of 14 was working around the clock... Sheriff's deputies and highway patrol officials also planned to be out in full force, looking for stranded motorists.

"I'm thinking about going to get my tow strap and try to help people that's stranded lot of people with kids. I don't want nobody being cold."

The Darke County Sheriff's office was asking residents not to call the for travel information. The phone lines were clogged. They need to keep those lines open for real emergencies.