REGION BLANKETED BY SNOW, SLEET AND ICE

A storm system carrying snow, sleet and freezing rain almost paralyzed Southeast Missouri on Wednesday, closing businesses, hampering mail delivery and causing class cancellations at schools across the region.

Residents were warned to stay off perilous roads and wait out the weather at home.

All but the major streets in Cape Girardeau remained unplowed Wednesday morning -- the snow grayed and compressed by the wheels of morning commuters and later glazed as freezing drizzle began before noon. Doug Leslie, Cape Girardeau public works director, said city crews began clearing streets around 4:30 a.m., but heavy snow quickly covered up their efforts.

From inside Mudsucker's restaurant downtown, employees Robert Marabla and Garon Schnepel watched the cars skid past on Main Street. The restaurant was nearly empty at lunch, but both anticipated a healthy evening crowd.

"It's good coffee and Kaluha weather," said Schnepel.

At 1 p.m., aptly named Cape Girardeau resident B.J. Snow was venturing outside for the first time on Wednesday, face obscured by a wool scarf. Snow decided not to risk the commute to her organizational consulting job in Scott City.

"I had enough sense not to leave the house," she said. "There's not many jobs I've ever had that were worth driving from downtown Cape Girardeau to Scott City this morning."

A day off for students

Cape Girardeau and Jackson public schools began notifying media and district staff of school cancellations around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Few employees other than central office administrators and maintenance staff worked in either district.

Cape Girardeau School District Superintendent Dan Steska canceled today's classes and also canceled sports activities before noon, citing the anticipated continued icy weather and snow-filled streets and sidewalks.

"Even though the main thoroughfares may be clean, we have kids having to walk in the middle of streets, especially on side streets, and the side streets may not be clean," said Steska.

Jackson school administrators likewise canceled today's classes. With Jackson school buses covering about 2,000 miles of routes daily, Superintendent Ron Anderson said it is often the rural routes that decide whether or not it will be a snow day for the district.

Cape Girardeau's public schools have four remaining snow days built into their schedule. Jackson's had one planned and used it Tuesday. Students now owe a make-up day.

Southeast Missouri State University shut down for the first time in three years, with university offices and classrooms closing at 10 a.m. Wednesday and final exams rescheduled. The university administration said it would delay the start of classes and the opening of offices until noon today because of the weather.

"This really was a larger storm than we anticipated," said Dr. Ken Dobbins, Southeast Missouri State University president.

Al Stoverink, Southeast's facilities management director, said the last Southeast snow day was in January 1997, when an ice storm shut down the region. However, it was during the Christmas break.

Businesses close

Area mail service was iffy Wednesday as carriers slipped and slid to boxes.

"We delivered everywhere we could," said Toni Charles, customer service manager at the Cape Girardeau Post Office. "We delivered to homes where a path had been cleared to the mailbox, and where streets were accessible."

It's up to carrier discretion where to go, noted Charles. "We don't ask carriers to risk safety."

Some businesses closed rather than risk employee safety. Thorngate Ltd. at Cape Girardeau and Chaffee and General Sign in Nash Road Industrial Park were among the manufacturers closed. The Cape Girardeau County Area Medical Society and several Cape Girardeau banks closed early.

The weather has resulted in some event cancellations. The fourth annual Senior Tour of Lights, scheduled for 6 p.m. today, has been canceled. Also, the grand opening of SunCom Wireless, scheduled today for 4:30 p.m., 350 N. Kingshighway, has been postponed.

But while some employees didn't have to work, city and county road crews had tough jobs.

Cape Girardeau County road crews began plowing rural roads and dumping cinders around 7 a.m. Wednesday. Crews continued to work throughout the day on the approximately 400 miles of mostly gravel county roads.

City officials reported they considered closing the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport for a time. But the airport stayed open as city crews managed to keep the runways plowed.

Staff writers Mark Bliss, Tamara Buck, B. Ray Owen and Christopher Howard contributed to this report.

SOUTHEAST REVISES EXAM SCHEDULE

Original schedule New schedule

Wednesday Friday

10 a.m. 10 a.m.

noon noon

2 p.m. 2 p.m.

4 p.m. 4 p.m.

Evening exams Evening exams at same time

Thursday Thursday

8 a.m. Noon

10 a.m. 2 p.m.

noon 4 p.m.

2 p.m. 4 p.m.

4 p.m. 4 p.m.

Evening exams Evening exams at same time