HAMILTON — In a summer that has been scorching hot, Greg Wilkens is envisioning winter storms and icy, snow-covered streets.

        But he's not attempting a mental escape from the heat. The Butler County engineer is simply being prepared.

        The engineer's office just bought four new state-of-the-art snow plows and is advertising for bids for road salt.

        “In our business, looking ahead to winter is short-term planning,” Mr. Wilkens said. “We're usually looking five or six years ahead.”

        The new tandem-axle trucks, which cost $108,000 each, will replace 15-year-old trucks. The new trucks, Mr. Wilkens said, have a lot of advantages over the old ones:

        They can hold 14 tons of salt, almost double the amount the old trucks could carry. As a result, truck drivers will be making fewer trips back to the salt barn to reload.

        They can be converted from dump trucks to salt trucks in 15 minutes, 45 minutes less than the old ones.

        They have tire chains that can be dropped when they're needed with a flip of a switch without stopping the truck.

        “We don't have to take an hour to put the chains on and another hour to take them off,” Mr. Wilkens said.

        They have brighter, longer-lasting emergency lights.

        The new trucks also are designed to be safer than the old ones. “The cab noses of the new trucks point down, which makes them a lot easier and safer to drive,” Mr. Wilkens said.

        They have a double set of rear wheels instead of a single set, and the style of the new truck increases the driver's range of vision and the trucks provide a smoother ride, decreasing driver fatigue.

        The engineer's office joined with 19 Butler County communities in advertising for bids for road salt.

        “We'll get a cost savings because of the large volume,” Mr. Wilkens said.

        Butler County will get salt bids until Aug. 20. After the engineer's office reviews the bids, the county commissioners will award a contract to the lowest qualified bidder.

        The public might think its strange to be advertising for bids for road salt in August, but it makes economic sense, Mr. Wilkens said.

        “Last year, counties and municipalities that waited later to advertise for bids wound up paying a lot more than we did,” he said.

Database keeps DNA from cleared suspects
Witness to the Holocaust
Air charters will get more scrutiny
Suspect's mental state could be centerpiece of her defense
Tenants say help not enough
Ads sell racial justice
Festival seating defended
In homage of 9-11 heroes
Obituary: Algertha Howard lived life to fullest
HOWARD: Some Good News
PULFER: It's just gross
RADEL: Festival seating
Butler readies for icy winter
Lebanon councilman questions tax initiative
Lebanon ponders its own TV fare
Middletown toughens standards for housing
Two charged in thefts of mail, IDs
Work beginning on I-75 stretch
Baby rattlesnakes raining from the sky?
Compensation for nuclear workers won't be contested
Petitioners urge treatment for drug offenders
Case of mistaken identity shatters families
Kentucky News Briefs
Man convicted of drug charges
Parole board sets convicted cop killer free
Promenade development going slowly
Schools updated on budget: May worsen