PRAIRIE DU SAC, Wis. — The snow plow crews know that winter storm days mean lots of time thinking about clearing the roads. For one plow driver, that means a lot less time thinking about himself.
“If it’s a snow emergency or a storm emergency, it’s however long it takes,” Dylan Shaker said, describing the amount of time he’ll spend plowing the roads. “That could be 12 hours, it could be a couple hours.”
Shaker is one of many plow drivers in Prairie du Sac aiming to keep the roads clear for the current winter storm.
The forecast meant Shaker had to sacrifice his time on a day that’s normally meant to be all about himself.
“Today is my birthday,” said Shaker. “The boss called me last night, asked if I could come in. I told him, ‘Absolutely.’”
His reasons for working on his birthday show the dedication of the plow crews and the teamwork they need to get their job done.
“I don’t want to leave the crew or my teammates out to dry. If they are going to work, I’m going to work,” said Shaker.
Troy Murphy, the village’s director of public works and utilities, said this is just the beginning of long days for plow crews. High winds and cold temperatures are making the usual strategies to get the snow off the roads more difficult.
“These drivers are pretty patient and professional,” said Murphy. “Even these trucks here, full of salt, with roads frozen down the way it is, that truck can slide all over.”
On the day he’s celebrating his 29th year, Shaker is spending lots of time thinking about the best parts of the job.
“Growing up as a kid, you always want to play with big trucks and now I get to do it every day,” said Shaker. “It’s a lot of fun.”
He’s still mostly thinking about the parts that don’t involve himself.
“I’m very fortunate to have the crew that I do and get to work with them,” said Shaker.
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