The aftereffects of Winter Storm Blair has brought many challenges to citizens in the St. Louis area. Due to “an abundance of caution due to challenging road conditions,” the Wentzville School District has called off all school for Jan. 7. This school closing will be used as one of our AMI learning days.

Blair hit the Lake Saint Louis area late Jan. 4 and didn’t leave the area until the early morning of Jan. 6.

The WSD remained closed due to the dangerous road conditions on Jan. 6. through Jan. 7. And just recently the WSD has closed once again for Jan. 8. due to harsh and dangerous road conditions that surround the area.

Although to the naked eye, the road conditions may seem decent, but other residents think differently.

“My neighborhood is still pretty covered,” Sydney Harder (12) said.

Across the river, IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) has cleared local highways efficiently, although MODOT (Missouri Department of Transportation) has been struggling to keep up with neighborhoods and local roads.

Highway N, located near Liberty High School off of Sommers Road has been cleared to only one half of a lane for traffic coming from both ways. Highway N is one of the most used roads for the WSD as this is a connecting road to Timberland and a main road to get to Liberty.

The WSD’s main concern is the unsafe backroads as they have not been treated as well as other main roads. While it may be safe and clear for some student to transport to school, it may be hazardous for others to get to school. This was the main reason behind the closure.

Other roads such as N by Bryan Road has remained completely snow covered along with roads in other districts such as the Howell District. Not only roads but even neighborhoods still have snow covered roads.

While WSD schools remained closed, WSD maintenance staff members worked throughout the day on Jan. 7 to clear parking lots of the district.