The state Department of Transportation had some help clearing snow from Tumbling Run Road on Monday.
Rick Trumbo, head mechanic for Guers Dairy, Lewistown Valley, plowed the six-mile stretch from the plant to where it ends at Route 61.
"It was pretty dangerous and we'd hate to see anyone get hurt," said Eddie Guers, vice president of the dairy which ships tea, milk and other items to stores across the county and surrounding region.
Guers said he wanted to make sure his drivers returned safely from their routes.
He said when trucks left at 4 a.m. Monday, there was "just a dusting" of snow on the ground. Then it kept falling. When he called the PennDOT maintenance office in Schuylkill Haven on Monday and couldn't get any information about when the road would be plowed, he took matters into his own hands. Trumbo plowed the road about 9 a.m. and then again later in the morning.
Among the customers depending on the diary Monday were Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street and East Norwegian Street sites, who were expecting milk deliveries from Guers.
Guers said the company bought the used plow truck at an auction after the Valentine's Day storm in 2007. Kevin Fitzgerald, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, State College, said 10 inches of snow fell in Mahanoy City between Feb. 14 and 15 that year.
"We had a real bad storm and the state wasn't able to make it here. The road wasn't touched for three days after that storm," he said.
While the dairy made its deliveries, with the help of the plow, some of its trucks sustained broken springs and cracked windshields in 2007, Guers said.
On Monday, he does not fault PennDOT.
"I hope it helped them out. They're between a rock and a hard place," because of all the snow, he said.
Sean Brown, spokesman for PennDOT District 5, Allentown, had not heard about Guers' efforts Monday, and he knew nothing of the state's failure to quickly plow the road in 2007.
"All state roads are plowed," he said, adding that the heavier-traveled roads are a priority.
The average daily traffic on Tumbling Run Road is 700 vehicles a day.
"It is lower on the list," Brown said, adding workers would plow the road and apply salt as needed.
Guers understands PennDOT has a job to do, but so does his business.
"In our case, we believe getting to the hospital is a priority," Guers said.
Brown said PennDOT was "appreciative" of the effort by Guers Dairy.
"I've never heard of that. That's why I was taken aback," he said about the business plowing the road, adding just because he didn't hear of such a thing, doesn't mean it hasn't happened in other places.
PennDOT operates 40 plow trucks in Schuylkill County.
"Our folks will be out there till we hit all the roadways," Brown said, adding workers were on 12-hour shifts.
State Rep. Mike Tobash, R-125, in whose district part of Tumbling Run Road lies, said Monday he understands the dairy has a business to run but businesses might assume a liability risk if they plow state roads.
"I would use caution before you go out and take action on state highways," Tobash said.
"I understand that philosophy. I think that's important," he said about plowing the most heavily traveled roads first.
Part of the road is in state Rep. Neal P. Goodman's 123rd district. He could not be reached for comment.