Even East Lansing Councilmember Nathan Triplett was out helping people shovel their driveways.
Triplett said after he finished shoveling his own driveway, he noticed some of his neighbors were in need of assistance and jumped at the chance to lend a hand.

“The (East Lansing) Public Works Department did a great job clearing all the main streets and some of the residential streets, but they can only do so much,” he said. “People still have to go out and shovel driveways and sidewalks.”

Triplett said the residents of East Lansing took the warnings given out by city officials to heart and stayed off the streets whenever possible.

East Lansing police Capt. Tom Johnstone said there were no automobile accidents in the city and MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said there was only one accident reported on campus.
The one minor on-campus accident was a walk-in report and no one was injured, McGlothian-Taylor said.

McGlothian-Taylor said campus generally was quiet with few cars on the roads, and it was a slow day as far as police work was concerned.

“People were smart and adhered to the emergency weather,” she said. “I’m just glad that people listened to the university and the weather reports and stayed off the roads.”

Many students, such as mechanical engineering freshman Mike Cena, avoided going outside at all costs.

Cena said the day off from school was an opportunity for him to catch up on his sleep and studies.

“I was basically planning on sleeping in, getting caught up on homework and just relaxing inside,” he said.

Johnstone said the city was just as slow and traffic on Grand River Avenue and other main streets in East Lansing also was at a minimum during the storm.

Aside from helping a few vehicles stuck on the side streets, the East Lansing Police Department received no calls for service, Johnstone said.

“So far most people have heeded all advice and avoided driving,” he said. “The Public Works Department worked around the clock to get the main roads cleared.”

Triplett said the community came together in response to the severe weather and helped each other in whatever way possible.

“(East Lansing is) a community that is willing to band together to deal with a difficult situation like this,” he said. “Obviously no one wants to get 11 inches of snow dumped on them, but we worked through it.”