A commercial plow truck travels along State Highway 12 in Sherburne Thursday morning. (Photo by Tyler Murphy)

UPDATE: The Travel Ban in Chenango County will be replaced at 6 pm by a Travel Advisory. The Travel Advisory will remain in effect until 6 am on Friday (December 18th).

NORWICH - Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Lawrence Wilcox has declared a State of Emergency due to the major winter storm currently impacting Chenango County. In conjunction with the State of Emergency, a Travel Ban is in effect until further notice.

The Chenango County Office Building will also be closed today (December 17th).

The declaration bans non-essential travel on all county and local roads. This prohibition does not apply to:

• Vehicles engaged in snow removal, sanding, salting, clearing and towing operations or those traveling to or from their jobs in relation to these duties

• Medical personnel enroute to or from their offices or hospitals for the treatment of patients

• Public employees designated as essential personnel by their employers or contractors retained by the government to perform emergency related services

• Utility operators and repair personnel

• Volunteers or employees of non-profit organizations providing emergency help associated with disaster relief, recovery, and assistance at the Direction of or with the authorization of the Director of Emergency Management of Chenango County

• Employees of healthcare facilities (hospitals, nursing homes)

“The County’s Emergency Management Office continues to monitor the storm closely and our public works crews and local police will make every effort to keep roads passable and safe, but we need all residents to stay off the roads,” Wilcox said. “I encourage residents to check in on their neighbors, particularly senior citizens, to assist them with removal of the excessive snowfall.”

The Travel Ban is in effect until further notice but will be re-evaluated around midday once the snow has stopped.

For the latest updates and road conditions in the County, call (607) 336-TOGO (8646).

– From City of Norwich/Chenango County Joint Emergency Operations Center