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Blackstone, other small towns, walloped by winter storm

Posted at 11:57 AM, Mar 06, 2013
and last updated 2013-03-06 18:30:32-05

BLACKSTONE, Va. (WTVR) – Small towns across the Commonwealth are digging out from the March winter blast that's making travel difficult.

CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil said Blackstone and Crewe worked hard to get a handle on the winter storm.

While some folks were shoveling out, others were busy cleaning town streets. Garbage collection continued in the town even though winter weather made the task a bit more difficult.

"We got to do it. I mean, we love our little small town, so it's our job to clean it up. That's what we do… rain, sleet or snow," Blackstone's Robert Lee said.

Across South Central Virginia on Wednesday, small towns were getting dumped on by Old Man Winter.

"It's hard but most folks understand that we're a small southern town, snow storms are not that common and most folks will drive carefully and take their time," Blackstone Mayor Billy Coleburn said.

And just like their big city counter, crews in small towns are pulling long shifts.

"Our street crews will be out, pushing the main roads first.. They'll get to the side streets later in the day," Coleburn said.

Ten miles down the road in Crewe, Bill Merritt, a police officer said they town's fleet of trucks, along with VDOT, help keep roads clear.

And while snow forced many businesses to close, some brave souls still opened for business.

"No we have not had any customers today, but we also do phone calls," said Trend's Lydia Shepherd said. "If people call in and they'd like us to mail out gifts or monogram orders, things like that, we'll still take them today."

A few other small town businesses were open Wednesday. While most town crews have helped clear their main streets of snow and slush, the big worry is overnight power outages as temperatures drop.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: March Winter Storm