Snow problem: Volunteers hit the roads and driveways to clear the way for those in need

From Norton to Akron to Stow and Munroe Falls, Good Samaritans were out with snowplows and shovels Monday and Tuesday, helping neighbors blocked in by walls of snow.

In Norton, freshly sworn-in Councilman Doug DeHarpart took to the streets Monday and Tuesday, helping residents get out of their driveways and back in business.

“My thought was, ‘I own this machine. I use it for myself and to plow a couple neighbors out,’ ” he said Tuesday. “A lot of people are trying to get plowed out.”

Snowfall totals: 19 inches of snow fell in two Summit County communities; northern Ohio storm totals released

Digging out: Portions of Akron still snowed in; half of residential roads remain unplowed

DeHarpart, who campaigned on a platform of taking action instead of grousing about problems, said he decided to go beyond his immediate neighborhood to plow out residents who might need to get to work or the doctor.

DeHarpart, the owner of ISUPPLY Industrial & Construction Supply in the city, said he’d plowed about 35 driveways and planned to do more on Tuesday.

“It’s nice serving people and helping people instead of just complaining,” he said.

On Monday, he helped the director of a large nursing home whose Volkswagen was trapped in his driveway get to work.

“He went on the Norton Talks (Facebook page) and put a post that ‘This is the best councilman ever,’ ” DeHarpart said.

DeHarpart said he appreciated the sentiment, especially since not all reactions were so effusive.

After plowing for an executive at a jewelry company, the man made a brisk departure.

“I plowed early this morning and then he yelled at me that he had to go to work and left,” DeHarpart said.

But that reaction wasn’t typical for DeHarpart or others who went the extra mile to help out.

'He was our hero'

In Ellet, Akron city worker Tanner Sherman gained a lot of fans as he volunteered his help from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday.

Nikki Smith, who lives near Ellet High School, was one of the people Sherman helped and she felt motivated to sing his praises on social media. By early afternoon, the post had received about 3,000 likes — a measure of a post’s popularity — and an outpouring of gratitude from those who Sherman helped and requests from others for assistance.

“Up until it was dark out, he was still out there [and] only went home one time to eat,” she said. “… He ended up plowing my driveway and my neighbor’s driveway and two of my neighbors across the street.”

Maria Smith, not related to Nikki Smith, said she asked for help for her father, who had injured himself while trying to dig out. Her father, a military veteran diagnosed with cancer, bit off more than he could chew.

“He said, ‘I’m going to do it myself,’ and that’s when he hit his face on the car,” Maria Smith said.

It was dark and getting late, but Sherman’s wife, Abbie, dispatched him to the home. So, after 9:30 a.m., Ellet’s Good Samaritan showed up at her father’s home, shovel in hand.

“I was literally in tears,” she said.

Nikki Smith said Sherman’s actions made him a star in the Akron neighborhood.

“We were waving at him and people were yelling, ‘Thank you!’ ” she said. “He was our hero in my neighborhood yesterday.”

Making way for EMS

Munroe Falls Service Department had to assist the fire department several times throughout the storm and even had to pull out its own salt trucks that became stuck in the snow.

Service Director Jim Bowery said the city plows also had to clear parts of Mulberry Gardens retirement community's entrances so that EMS could access the entrances. A squad truck became stuck twice while responding to an emergency there.

In a third instance, which included the transport of a patient, EMS called the service department immediately to ensure they could quickly get in and out.

Bowery noted that plowing the driveways is Mulberry's responsibility, "but when you have an emergency like that, you have to do what you can to help EMS."

The Tallmadge Service Department also helped their city's fire department to ensure that EMS could get to calls.

"I thought our street department did an excellent job considering the amount that fell in that short window," Service Director Mike Rorar said.

Muscling through the snow

In Stow, several members of the wrestling team increased their fan base by helping out.

Tyler Buckwalter, head wrestling coach at Stow-Munroe Falls High School, said a day of service started with digging out the driveway of an assistant coach.

“While they were over there, they saw a ... post from disabled person,” Buckwalter said. “They did his driveway for him, and while they were there, someone posted about somebody who couldn’t get out.”

More driveways followed, and seven hours after they started wrestling with mountains of snow, the volunteers called it a day.

“We have a good group of kids that are always looking for opportunities to help people out,” Buckwalter said.

The work gave the wrestlers a chance to hang out together and provide a service, he said.

“They like getting together,” he said. “With COVID, it’s been hard for high school kids to get together. They crave that, there’s no doubt about it.”

The wrestlers weren’t the only Good Samaritans operating in Stow.

RoseAnn Krannich, a resident at Allen Place Senior Housing on Graham Road, said she was in tears after a fellow Stow resident helped her out

“We were all snowed in and none of us could get out,” she said. “My car was almost completely buried,” Krannich said. “My neighbor has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and she uses a walker.”

She placed a help request on social media and Stow resident Michele Pixley reached out, using a shovel to free Krannich. The effort took more than an hour, Krannich said.

“She did the work and dug out all that snow,” Krannich said. “She said to me, ‘This is like going to the gym for free.’ ”

But it was a workout beyond Krannich’s capability and she was grateful.

“I don’t know what we would have done without her,” Krannich said. “There truly are good people left in the world.”

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj. Beacon Journal reporter Krista S. Kano contributed to this report

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Vounteers in Norton, Stow, Akron Munroe Falls dig deep to help out