It has been a much different winter for Steinbach Public Works than a year ago. Department head Randy Reimer says last winter, they couldn't keep up with the repeated heavy snowfalls. They were constantly clearing streets and had trouble keeping up with snow hauling. He adds, this winter, accumulations have been minimal which has altered their response.

"In December, we had a lot of light snowfalls that didn't always warrant plowing streets so we did a lot of sanding. Currently, we still have a lot of our cul-de-sacs that we're cutting down (ice and snow) now to get back to pavement. We're making piles in the cul-de-sacs which have to be hauled away so we're busy with that. Yes, it's definitely been a different winter than we had last year."

Reimer adds, during Christmas break, they did a lot of snow clean-up from boulevards around schools. He says this should make it easier for parents and children to access the schools

Snow clearing was a much bigger challenge a year ago.from the street.

He notes winter is far from over and he expects they may yet have to deal with some heavy snowfalls.

"We could have a good two to three months of winter yet and get some heavy dumps. I definitely wouldn't rule that out at this point."