By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026 — Nelson County Judge-Executive Tim Hutchins took time at Tuesday morning’s Nelson Fiscal Court meeting to express his appreciation for all the county employee and members of the community who came together in the wake of the recent snow and ice storm that blanketed Nelson County.

The community responded to the need, he explained — by helping transport nurses to medical facilities, by transporting dialysis patients from their homes to the clinic, helping clear plowed snow and ice piled up blocking their neighbors’ driveways and more.
Nelson County Coroner Danielle Chladek and deputy jailers from the Nelson County Jail helped provide security and monitoring of the county’s emergency shelter set up at the Nelson County Civic Center.
While no garbage routes were run last week, those crews were busy helping with other needs with the road department in other areas.
Road Supervisor Brad Spalding explained that pickup truck-mounted snow plows were not always effective on the heavy layer of ice on some roads. The county used its two road graders in a number of areas, and also rented two additional road graders to help scrap compacted ice and snow from the county roads.
Spalding apologized for driveways blocked by a mountain of plowed snow and ice, but explained the plowing crews did not have time to clear each driveway.
He noted that Nelson County doesn’t experience severe snow and ice like we had recently, and it is an opportunity to try to do a better job when the next weather event hits the county.
Hutchins noted that there was a report of just one tree falling due to the snow and ice accumlation, which he said showed that the county’s policy of removing dead or diseased trees from rights-of-way helped to prevent power outages caused by trees falling on power lines.
In addition to the use of approximately 1,100 tons of salt, the county also used 200 tons of sand in selected areas to improve traction.
Spalding said that the state and county road crews clear the roads for which they are responsible. All county roads with a 2 or 3-digit number — like US31E, KY 62, KY 49, 509, 733 — are actually state roads, and the state is responsible for clearing those roads.
He said member of the public may question why they see snow plows traveling without their plows down plowing. The reason is because a snow plow crew will not attempt to plow a road that’s recently been salted, or if they are on a county road, he explained.
The county assisted the state’s snow removal efforts after they lost a state snow plow truck, he said.
Hutchins said the county will come back and repair areas where snow removal may have damaged mail boxes or drainage ditches. Contact his office at (502) 348-1800 to report damage.
NEXT UP. Nelson Fiscal Court next meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, in the Nelson County Public Library.
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