Monday, December 21, 2009
Winter storm: not so 'frightful' anymore
After being snowbound Saturday, many people ventured out Sunday.
Photos by Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times
Pia runs to Mark Kary after being called Sunday in Elmwood Park.
Lyndsay Smith participates in a snowball fight on Sunday at Elmwood Park.
Nickolas Gordon, 6, rides over a jump Sunday at Roanoke's Ghent Hill Park.
Related
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- Saturday snowfall scenes
- First hours of snowfall around the region
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From today's paper
Previous coverage
- Snowy region begins to dig out
- Snow stymies travel, may challenge record
- Snowfall stifles area shoppers
- Preparations began early for winter storm
- Big snow, empty stores
More winter weather resources
Western Virginians wriggled out from under a white winter blanket Sunday, braving snow-covered side streets in many places to play, shop, worship or simply dig out the car after more than a day cooped up in the house.
Ken Knopp, who does maintenance at apartment complexes, rammed a snow bank with his Dodge van to free the vehicle from a snowbound alley.
"Wonder I didn't tear the grille off," he said, pausing with a shovel afterward in front of his house in Northwest Roanoke.
Much of this weekend's roughly foot and a half of snow still was on the ground Sunday when teenager Crystal English of Roanoke reached Fallon Park Elementary School and plunged downhill on a thin plastic sled.
The Patrick Henry High School student later climbed back to the top and gave this report:
"It was fast. It took my breath," she said.
In Elmwood Park, a group of merrymakers showed up for a snowball fight that had been advertised through Facebook and e-mail. One side hid within a stronghold made of stacked blocks of snow; the other encircled the structure as they lobbed shots.
At one point, Ken King yelled, "On three, everyone storm the fort!" And the people in the fort took a pelting.
One of the largest gatherings without risk of chilly cheeks was inside First Baptist Church on Third Street in downtown Roanoke, which opened for worship while many other churches did not.
N.E. Via of Roanoke County and Shirley Lee of Botetourt County, who are dating, made up two of the congregation. Via drove his four-wheel-drive Chevrolet pickup truck out his snow-covered driveway, across town and into Lee's unplowed subdivision to pick her up for church.
"He's a maverick," Lee said with a smile. "Give him a challenge, and he's going to meet the challenge."
Others devoted the day to shopping, with only five days till Christmas. The New River Valley Mall, which, like other malls, operated with few stores open Saturday, was bustling by Sunday, said marketing coordinator Tina Waugh, after a look around.
"It looked like just a normal, before-Christmas shopping day," Waugh said.
For still others, the holiday had already began.
The Tucker family of Pensacola, Fla., waited with a boatload of luggage at Roanoke Regional Airport for a shuttle bus to take them to The Homestead resort in Hot Springs, 65 miles north of Roanoke. They had come via rental car from Greensboro, N.C., which was as far as they could fly, even though Roanoke's airport reopened.
Once at the resort, Lisa Tucker planned to relax while her children, Sarah, 15, and Allan,11, would ski.
"We're going to shred. We're going to shred for real," Sarah said, using the lingo of the sport, well aware of the snowfall that had piled 28 inches where she was heading.
