What do we think will happen on Monday?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite is people complaining on Facebook about sidewalks not being shoveled and saying there’s no way the kids can go to school because of it. As if someone is going to just come along and do it for them. I get that plows made everything harder by piling up snow. They did it to us too, but you have to get out there and work on it or find someone who can help. It’s like there is no concept of personal responsibility anymore. Everyone just throws their hands up and says there’s no possible solution.

How does one work on a glacier?

Also, that isn’t personal responsibility. That is taking responsibility for your neighbors and doing things for them. Why are you advocating for us to mollycoddle our neighbors?

Maybe your neighbors need help? Why wouldn’t you want to help them?

We can tell what kind of neighbor PP is. Some are elderly or injured, and helping them is the right thing to do. Agree that no one should bail out able bodied neighbors that’s just incentivizing them to be lazy next time.

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”

[Anonymous]

The crosswalks at Longfellow (Westmoreland and Kirby) were not clear today. I can’t imagine it being safe if we add another inch on A bulldozer will be needed to clear those mounds of ice. I would guess a delay at minimum to accommodate middle school. We are fortunate the bomb cyclone is missing our area (unless that changes).

To add on for Longfellow, the sidewalks up Westmoreland are not clear. So the kids would have to walk on Westmoreland itself.

Longfellow itself (parking lots and sidewalk to Kirby Road) appears to be cleared.

If they rely on the "cleared bus stop" logic, I don't know that they can open. But if we wait for bus stops to be clear, we'll be waiting a while. If we go on the wind chill logic, Monday morning and kids waiting at a bus in 0 wind chill seems like a reason to call based on calls made in the past. Tuesday seems substantially warmer.

Wouldn't want to be the one making this decision!

[Anonymous]

Plenty of people have been helping their neighbors when asked. Our neighborhood FB page has had parents posting about kids willing to help and people have been using that information. People have been sharing what companies have been great at taking care of the mess and how much it cost.

I am not going to shovel my neighbors side walk who has taken the time to do their drive way and not touch their side walk. They are making a choice, they are capable if doing it themselves or paying someone to do it and choose to screw over other people.

I would love for the County to ticket the homeowners who have not shoveled their side walks. There are regulations that require you shovel, enforce those and see how quickly people start doing what they should be doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really hope they don't open on Monday. We live near Marshall HS, the roads are barely plowed, there is no place to park, let alone walk. I don't know how those school buses will maneuver. Just driving towards route 7 is an adventure of its own. Seriously, FCPS, stay closed on Monday and possibly Tuesday.

There is no point closing on Monday or Tuesday, because the mountains of snow aren't going anywhere. Everyone is just going to have to deal with the situation at hand. This stuff is going to be here until mid-February.

It’s not very helpful to say “deal with it.” You are invalidating the scope of the difficulties some people are facing and will make them angry and recalcitrant by doing so. Recommend some techniques for ice removal, provide contact information for ice removal services. Go out into the community and help those who need help.

Many folks in the county were not prepared for this unprecedented combination of thick ice and a long stretch of very cold weather. In the past, we could rely on time passing and conditions improving. As a result, it feels like it’s “time” to go back school, but if officials make a decision based on a past reality and not the present one, based on what everyone wants (because I do think everyone wants to go back) and not on current conditions and risk assessments, we will regret it.

I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Maybe some schools can open safely, but I am hearing that others can’t, and I am not going to dismiss their problems because they are inconvenient for me.

No, PP is right. We have stopped expecting people to deal with anything, and instead pointing out every little individual circumstance that might make things harder and saying we have to rearrange or cancel everything for those people. Now we have a bunch of people with learned helplessness. It’s happening at school too. We are not better off for it.

I understand what you mean, but I don’t agree that we are currently facing a situation where individuals are feigning helplessness. Thinking that way — blaming and hating anonymous others when a community problem happens - is not good for your soul and it’s not good for the people you live and interact with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the people volunteering their time and efforts to help their neighbors should be celebrated and that doesn’t have to be gender specific. Teen girls can help with shoveling and volunteer just like the boys but the messaging has been for boys to help with shoveling. Yes, girls could jump on the bandwagon but they are not being asked, which is sexist. I don’t think it is intentional but it is sexist.

Framing the ask for “Any able body volunteers who are available” gives more room for both genders to participate instead of asking only for boys.

And yes, asking if there are girls who can help watch kids of working parents is also sexist.

I am not sure why people struggle with the idea of just asking for help and not asking for gender specific help. Maybe more boys will show up but leaving it nuetral makes it easier for girls to show up.

Every request has been framed gender neutral, "Are there any teens or younger people available to help with shoveling?"

Not one tern girl is volunteering.

Not a dingle parent of teen girls (and we have plenty) have volunteered their daughters to help shovel out their neighbors.

Our young men need to be celebrated for their herculaneum effort at helping their neighbirs clear this mess.

You need to stop you sound as stupid as the person who claimed all schools were cleared. You can't possibly know if teens girls volunteered. You know your neighborhood not mine and not others. Just stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the people volunteering their time and efforts to help their neighbors should be celebrated and that doesn’t have to be gender specific. Teen girls can help with shoveling and volunteer just like the boys but the messaging has been for boys to help with shoveling. Yes, girls could jump on the bandwagon but they are not being asked, which is sexist. I don’t think it is intentional but it is sexist.

Framing the ask for “Any able body volunteers who are available” gives more room for both genders to participate instead of asking only for boys.

And yes, asking if there are girls who can help watch kids of working parents is also sexist.

I am not sure why people struggle with the idea of just asking for help and not asking for gender specific help. Maybe more boys will show up but leaving it nuetral makes it easier for girls to show up.

Every request has been framed gender neutral, "Are there any teens or younger people available to help with shoveling?"

Not one tern girl is volunteering.

Not a dingle parent of teen girls (and we have plenty) have volunteered their daughters to help shovel out their neighbors.

Our young men need to be celebrated for their herculaneum effort at helping their neighbirs clear this mess.

It seems very important to you to call out the gender of the people helping. Why is it hard to say “Thanks to the teens who came out and helped the neighborhood!” Include a picture, if the families are ok with that. Why do you think it is important to call out that it was boys?

Just curious here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plenty of people have been helping their neighbors when asked. Our neighborhood FB page has had parents posting about kids willing to help and people have been using that information. People have been sharing what companies have been great at taking care of the mess and how much it cost.

I am not going to shovel my neighbors side walk who has taken the time to do their drive way and not touch their side walk. They are making a choice, they are capable if doing it themselves or paying someone to do it and choose to screw over other people.

I would love for the County to ticket the homeowners who have not shoveled their side walks. There are regulations that require you shovel, enforce those and see how quickly people start doing what they should be doing.

It’s not just your neighbor’s sidewalk. It’s the neighborhood’s sidewalk. When a little kid slips and falls on it, you can blame him, but that blame doesn’t help the little kid who breaks his wrist. It just makes you feel smug and superior, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really hope they don't open on Monday. We live near Marshall HS, the roads are barely plowed, there is no place to park, let alone walk. I don't know how those school buses will maneuver. Just driving towards route 7 is an adventure of its own. Seriously, FCPS, stay closed on Monday and possibly Tuesday.

There is no point closing on Monday or Tuesday, because the mountains of snow aren't going anywhere. Everyone is just going to have to deal with the situation at hand. This stuff is going to be here until mid-February.

It’s not very helpful to say “deal with it.” You are invalidating the scope of the difficulties some people are facing and will make them angry and recalcitrant by doing so. Recommend some techniques for ice removal, provide contact information for ice removal services. Go out into the community and help those who need help.

Many folks in the county were not prepared for this unprecedented combination of thick ice and a long stretch of very cold weather. In the past, we could rely on time passing and conditions improving. As a result, it feels like it’s “time” to go back school, but if officials make a decision based on a past reality and not the present one, based on what everyone wants (because I do think everyone wants to go back) and not on current conditions and risk assessments, we will regret it.

I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Maybe some schools can open safely, but I am hearing that others can’t, and I am not going to dismiss their problems because they are inconvenient for me.

All of my neighbors are back at work. Shops are open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite is people complaining on Facebook about sidewalks not being shoveled and saying there’s no way the kids can go to school because of it. As if someone is going to just come along and do it for them. I get that plows made everything harder by piling up snow. They did it to us too, but you have to get out there and work on it or find someone who can help. It’s like there is no concept of personal responsibility anymore. Everyone just throws their hands up and says there’s no possible solution.

How does one work on a glacier?

If people had worked on it as it was happening it would have been easier. We shoveled, pushed aside sleet, and then used shovels to break up the ice build up on Sunday. It sucked but our sidewalk and driveway were clear by Sunday afternoon. People who chose to wait made a choice and now are arguing that the ice is too much.

If you don’t see that starting early and sucking up the fact that it sucked early caused that glacier on your sidewalk, that is on you. Now figure out how to deal with it. Hardware stores sell tools that work on this stuff, you might need to buy one.

The precipitation wasn't done until well into Sunday evening for much of the county, so being "clear by Sunday afternoon" did us no good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really hope they don't open on Monday. We live near Marshall HS, the roads are barely plowed, there is no place to park, let alone walk. I don't know how those school buses will maneuver. Just driving towards route 7 is an adventure of its own. Seriously, FCPS, stay closed on Monday and possibly Tuesday.

There is no point closing on Monday or Tuesday, because the mountains of snow aren't going anywhere. Everyone is just going to have to deal with the situation at hand. This stuff is going to be here until mid-February.

It’s not very helpful to say “deal with it.” You are invalidating the scope of the difficulties some people are facing and will make them angry and recalcitrant by doing so. Recommend some techniques for ice removal, provide contact information for ice removal services. Go out into the community and help those who need help.

Many folks in the county were not prepared for this unprecedented combination of thick ice and a long stretch of very cold weather. In the past, we could rely on time passing and conditions improving. As a result, it feels like it’s “time” to go back school, but if officials make a decision based on a past reality and not the present one, based on what everyone wants (because I do think everyone wants to go back) and not on current conditions and risk assessments, we will regret it.

I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Maybe some schools can open safely, but I am hearing that others can’t, and I am not going to dismiss their problems because they are inconvenient for me.

This storm was discussed for a week leading into it. That was time for people to buy a shovel and salt or sand and get ready for it. We were able to order boots, snowpants, and a sled that arrived on Wednesday. This was well advertised that it was going to be snow then sleet and ice was a risk. While I can imagine some people some how missed the news reports, posts all over social media, and the large scale messaging, pretending that people had no idea what this would be and how to prepare is ridiculous. The federal government closed for Monday on Friday because of how far in advanced this mess was predicted.

People were posting on Sunday asking about buying shovels.

If you have lived here for any period of time, you have a shovel. You maybe needed to get some salt or sand. I know my neighborhood and know that the people whose sidewalks are not clear own shovels and know how to deal with the mess. I know people who grew up in the North East and Midwest who have not touched their sidewalks. It has nothing to do knowledge and everything to deal with not wanting to do the work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite is people complaining on Facebook about sidewalks not being shoveled and saying there’s no way the kids can go to school because of it. As if someone is going to just come along and do it for them. I get that plows made everything harder by piling up snow. They did it to us too, but you have to get out there and work on it or find someone who can help. It’s like there is no concept of personal responsibility anymore. Everyone just throws their hands up and says there’s no possible solution.

How does one work on a glacier?

If people had worked on it as it was happening it would have been easier. We shoveled, pushed aside sleet, and then used shovels to break up the ice build up on Sunday. It sucked but our sidewalk and driveway were clear by Sunday afternoon. People who chose to wait made a choice and now are arguing that the ice is too much.

If you don’t see that starting early and sucking up the fact that it sucked early caused that glacier on your sidewalk, that is on you. Now figure out how to deal with it. Hardware stores sell tools that work on this stuff, you might need to buy one.

The precipitation wasn't done until well into Sunday evening for much of the county, so being "clear by Sunday afternoon" did us no good.

Clearing over the course of the day on Sunday made the task easier. You go out every few hours and remove what you can. It is less heavy, builds up less, and is easier to deal with when everything stops. Waiting for the even to be over means you have a heavier, giant mess that is far harder to deal with. Which is what the news was saying. Capital Weather Gang had posts on social media telling people to go out and shovel before the sleet came with specific times.

This was discussed in so many places. You cannot tell me that you can find your way here to say you couldn’t do this and convince me that you missed the posts all over FB, instagram, tiktoc, twitter, the news papers, and a host of other internet sources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plenty of people have been helping their neighbors when asked. Our neighborhood FB page has had parents posting about kids willing to help and people have been using that information. People have been sharing what companies have been great at taking care of the mess and how much it cost.

I am not going to shovel my neighbors side walk who has taken the time to do their drive way and not touch their side walk. They are making a choice, they are capable if doing it themselves or paying someone to do it and choose to screw over other people.

I would love for the County to ticket the homeowners who have not shoveled their side walks. There are regulations that require you shovel, enforce those and see how quickly people start doing what they should be doing.

Wrong, there are no regulations that require Fairfax County property owners to shovel their sidewalks. They encourage people to do so. Arlington has a requirement but even they suspended the requirement this time given the challenge of the ice removal.

And to the PP who said VDOT doesn’t have a customer service number, yes they do! 1-800-FOR-ROAD and they have a webpage portal at my.vdot.virginia.gov.

[Anonymous]

Monday 2 hours delay maybe doable, but expect a very slow movement, alot of late, very long kiss and ride. People slow down, road space is limited, parking is limited, sidewalk is slippery, and most likely injured will happen…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the people volunteering their time and efforts to help their neighbors should be celebrated and that doesn’t have to be gender specific. Teen girls can help with shoveling and volunteer just like the boys but the messaging has been for boys to help with shoveling. Yes, girls could jump on the bandwagon but they are not being asked, which is sexist. I don’t think it is intentional but it is sexist.

Framing the ask for “Any able body volunteers who are available” gives more room for both genders to participate instead of asking only for boys.

And yes, asking if there are girls who can help watch kids of working parents is also sexist.

I am not sure why people struggle with the idea of just asking for help and not asking for gender specific help. Maybe more boys will show up but leaving it nuetral makes it easier for girls to show up.

Every request has been framed gender neutral, "Are there any teens or younger people available to help with shoveling?"

Not one tern girl is volunteering.

Not a dingle parent of teen girls (and we have plenty) have volunteered their daughters to help shovel out their neighbors.

Our young men need to be celebrated for their herculaneum effort at helping their neighbirs clear this mess.

You need to stop you sound as stupid as the person who claimed all schools were cleared. You can't possibly know if teens girls volunteered. You know your neighborhood not mine and not others. Just stop.

Yeah, the teen girls in general are not volunteering to do this work.

Anyone with eyes can see this.

Imagine having such disdain for young men that you cannot give them well deserved and earned credit for helping their communities and doing work that many can't or wont.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Plenty of people have been helping their neighbors when asked. Our neighborhood FB page has had parents posting about kids willing to help and people have been using that information. People have been sharing what companies have been great at taking care of the mess and how much it cost.

I am not going to shovel my neighbors side walk who has taken the time to do their drive way and not touch their side walk. They are making a choice, they are capable if doing it themselves or paying someone to do it and choose to screw over other people.

I would love for the County to ticket the homeowners who have not shoveled their side walks. There are regulations that require you shovel, enforce those and see how quickly people start doing what they should be doing.

Wrong, there are no regulations that require Fairfax County property owners to shovel their sidewalks. They encourage people to do so. Arlington has a requirement but even they suspended the requirement this time given the challenge of the ice removal.

And to the PP who said VDOT doesn’t have a customer service number, yes they do! 1-800-FOR-ROAD and they have a webpage portal at my.vdot.virginia.gov.

They have toll number but they WON’T come to plow your neighborhood road, you just waste time calling them.
Its 100% HOA responsibility. If you live in neighborhood with disfunctional HOA, you screw. And even if your HOA try to do the best they can, the contractor now is in extremely high demand even when you have money. Some of it exhausting, do half ass job, broken vehicle, come and just left… and etc