Lack of snow dries up income for those who plow, shovel it
Lack of snow dries up income for those who plow, shovel it
Temperatures have been dropping, but so far, snow has been scarce this winter.
While some love the idea of skipping out on shoveling, others rely on the snow for income.
"In the summer, we had all this rain and we all thought this winter is going to be even better than the last three winters we had," said Pat Fonte of Prestige Lawn Care and Snow Removal, "and here we are, late January, and we only had one event and that was in October."
People can have mixed feelings about snow, but Fonte said he loves it.
"If it doesn't snow, the winter can be really rough without it," said Fonte.
That's because a large part of his winter income comes from snow, and he thought a fall snowstorm was a good omen.
"We all did, and here we are in the snow drought," said Fonte, who's ready for the drought to end, and will do whatever he has to.
"We just get together in a huddle," said Fonte, as he started to dance. "We want it to snow. Let it come down. Let it come down."
It's what he calls a snow dance.
"We want the snow drought to stop and hopefully this week, when we get together, we do this snow dance and we get some snow action happening," said Fonte.
If it works, he's not the only person in the snow removal business who will be happy.
"I'm hoping we get a lot of snow," said Jonathan Wise, owner of J Wise and Company. "It would be a great thing, a couple feet."
And even without the snow dance, it looks like the forecast is cooperating.
"So hopefully tonight, they're calling for some ice. We'll be out salting," said Fonte.
Fonte said he's thankful for the contracts from clients that pay a seasonal rate, but the majority of his customers pay per event. He's hoping for more than 20 inches in February.
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