County's 3 month snow cost tally: $850,000

A preliminary review shows Whitman County spent $850,000 for snow removal in three months, from January through March.

Mark Storey, Public Works director, totaled costs for materials, labor and equipment.

“We spent almost nothing in January,” Storey told county commissioners Monday.

The county averages a yearly expenditure of $300,000-$400,000 for snow and ice removal.

“The big caution now is, we still have November and December in front of us,” said Storey.

The January to March total does not include the cost to replace a section of fence near Rock Lake taken out by a road grader at the edge...