We are now a little over a week out from when Winter Storm Blair hit the Tri-State, delivering 8.8 inches of snow, as well as a layer of ice and shutting down much of the area’s business.

And, with that adversity, there are those who went out of their way to help, who we would like to recognize:

• Street crews throughout the county and villages, who worked, often in overtime, to clear up the mess left behind and to make roads safe. It was a huge job, complicated by the below freezing temperatures hindering efforts, but we are thankful for those who were out there.

• Local meteorologists and those at the National Weather Service, who went out of their way to alert the public of the storm’s impact, giving much of the community a heads up on preparation. The live nature of our peers in broadcast media put them in the position to keep the updates on conditions current for all three states in their coverage area. 

• The Ironton High School Fighting Tigers football team, who volunteered to go around the city, shoveling driveways and freeing cars for those in need. The team said they were doing it as a thank you to the community for their support at the state championship, and these players went above and beyond.