First snowfall of the season for Lethbridge

LETHBRIDGE- When southern Albertans woke up to snow Monday morning, the city said snow crews were ready and waiting.

“We have the trucks loaded with a salt/sand mix, crews are applying them if necessary,” said City of Lethbridge spokesperson Lee Perkins.

The first snowfall of the season is a little later than usual, giving storm fighters the upper hand on winter.

“Last year, of course, as most Lethbridgians will remember, it was early October when we had snow,” said Perkins. “It stayed with us quite a while, so this year we had an extended fall so again, we are quite happy. It’s good for us.”

Even though the later than normal snowfall gave the city extra time to prepare, unfortunately there were still some residents in the city that were caught off guard.

Ken Kissick with Streets Alive said the winter blast left some clients out in the cold without the proper gear.

“We’ve pulled all the stuff from last year, people have been bringing us some warm coats, but right now we have about a dozen men’s winter coats and about two dozen women’s coats and we will go through those today.”

Streets Alive depends on community donations for its users, but with a warmer than average fall, donations have been slow to come in. Pastor Kiss said they need at least 50 jackets right now, and about 400 to get through the winter.

“We are the closet for the street people–this is where they store their stuff. I mean, they don’t have a closet, they don’t have anything to carry a winter coat. It was 16 degrees yesterday–I wasn’t even wearing a jacket–but today I’ve got my warmer clothing on, and so I just went to my closet and pulled a different jacket. These people don’t have that opportunity.”

Streets Alive is also looking for donations of winter coats, boots, mitts and hats. Donations can be dropped off at Streets Alive during office hours, but will be closed on Remembrance Day (Nov. 11).