Battle For Bascom Preview

Quick preview of the epic Battle for Bascom, Wednesday, December 9, 2009.

http://http://vimeo.com/8092942

Lakeshore and Southeast go head to head on UW’s first snow day in almost 30 years.

http://http://vimeo.com/8129628

A snow day for the record books…

The University of Wisconsin-Madison canceled a full day of classes for the first time in more than 30 years. The announcement came around 7:45 p.m. the night before, prompting students to celebrate in true UW fashion. The day off came right before finals week, allowing many the opportunity to have extra time to study.

Due to the impressive snowfall that blanketed the state, Gov. Jim Doyle ordered Wednesday to close business down for most state government agencies and most University of Wisconsin campuses.

According to the order, state employees were told to stay home from their jobs unless they were employed in emergency response, public health or public safety fields. These fields fall under essential services, which are still necessary during extreme weather conditions.

“Wisconsin’s emergency workers are working hard to keep people safe,” Doyle said in a statement released Wednesday. “State offices are closed for business to ensure we are keeping people off the roads and allowing emergency response crews to do their jobs.”

The only UW campuses that were not included in the order were UW-Milwaukee and UW-Superior.

Doyle’s statement said UW System officials were working in conjunction with Wisconsin Emergency Management to monitor conditions and decide if and when to cancel classes.

Doyle also issued an executive order Tuesday night declaring a state of emergency for every county in the state. The order, according to Doyle’s statement, called the Wisconsin National Guard to active duty to provide assistance if the state needs it.

Wisconsin Emergency Operations Center, which falls under WEM, began monitoring the weather situation in the state at 8 a.m. Tuesday. Mike Goetzman, spokesperson for WEM, said despite the hazardous conditions, there have not been many incidents.

“Thankfully, we have had a very quiet day,” Goetzman said. “Relatively speaking, with closure of UW and most businesses, … most have abided by the admonition to stay home, which allows snowplows to do what they do.”

Goetzman also said the agency had heard of relatively few crashes, with victims sustaining minor injuries and no fatalities. He added the center stayed open overnight Wednesday night and will reassess the weather situation today to see if their services are still necessary.

“There is still the matter of strong winds to blow snow across roads,” Goetzman said. “Hopefully, we get sun (today) and (that) heats up and dries off roads.”

He added the center is still advising people not to travel if they can help it, as ice can form easily in this cold weather.