A Sanborn County snowplow operator walked away unharmed Thursday morning after what was nearly a serious train accident.
Just before 9 a.m. Thursday morning, Sanborn County Highway Department employee Kylie Forbes of Woonsocket was in a snowplow heading south out of Woonsocket on 397th Ave. As Forbes approached the railroad crossing on the edge of town, so did a train carrying 98 tankers of ethanol, which was heading southeast out of Woonsocket.
Forbes was unable to see the train due to the angle of the train tracks as they cross the road and the truck’s blind spot. The train engineer saw the truck coming and began slowing, but the engine nicked the plow and slid the truck over and sideways on the icy road.
Highway Superintendent Lee Goergen says there was very little damage to the plow, just a bit of a dent in the blade and some pins that needed to be straightened, and no real damage to the train.
The train remained stalled in Woonsocket nearly three hours, blocking every crossroad to traffic, essentially cutting the town in half. People had to make a four-mile detour to get to the other side of town.
A railroad inspector from Aberdeen was called down to look over the train and make sure it was safe for it to continue. The train was cleared to move on just before noon.

THE RESIDENT swans of Lake Prior are toughing it out in sub zero temps, spending a lot of time curled in a ball with their beaks hidden under a wing. Most swans migrate for the winter, so this pair must not be impressed with the recent cold snap. The couple spends the coldest days close by their nesting area, where the water is also always thawed due to the artesian well.

Staying warm this week has been a challenge with the “polar vortex” we have been experiencing. Record low temperatures and windchills of -30º  to -40º F had the county in their grip from Sunday to Tuesday morning. Schools cancelled classes on Monday and started late on Tuesday due to the extreme cold.
It is hard to believe we actually had a daytime high of 35º on Friday because by Monday the mercury could only reach -3º F, recording our daytime low for the week. The week’s nighttime low occurred on both Thursday and Monday at -13º.
The forecast calls for a warm-up with more seasonable temperatures by the end of this week.