It is that time of year again, the snow has fallen, the roads are icy and the schools encounter the debate between whether or not to close schools. This year there has been a slight change for Ionia County. The Ionia County Road Commission is no longer going to be plowing on the weekends due to the fact that they would have to pay their employees triple over time and the economy is not at its greatest point right now financially.

With there being no roads being plowed on the weekends there is a greater chance that Lakewood Public Schools will have to be closed due to the severe road conditions. Our economy is encountering a struggling period right now and having to pay the road commission workers triple over time is not going happen. Leading to the topic that school children love to hear, schools being closed. However this leads to conflicts with the length of the school year. This is not going to affect the seniors except for the fact that they would have to attend school on the day of prom. For the underclassmen, however if the number of school days exceeds the amount that we have as ‘freebies’ then the school year is lengthened. Senior Mike Norton says that he “ would not mind having to go to school on the day of prom as long as there were more snow days”. “ The snow day issue is phenomenal because then I will be able to sleep in more and the bonus of no school!” says Senior Natasha Polk. However Polk added that she would be upset about having to go to school on the day of prom because then it makes the day slower and it takes a while to look good and get ready for prom, coming to school that day would not be something to look forward to. As for the school year being longer for the underclassmen Senior Brandon Harkey said, “Let there be snow! It doesn’t make my school year any longer, well besides the prom day but it would be worth it.”