First Posted: 2/2/2015
OTTAWA — For Nicole Duling and her two children, Monday was a sunny sigh of relief.
Duling was able to spend the day outside with her children as they enjoyed a day off school.
Though her family resides in neighboring Glandorf, she and her children took their love for sledding and spending time outdoors to the slopes of the Upper Ottawa Reservoir.
“The last time we were here, our sled blew out onto the reservoir,” Duling said. “Luckily it was really close and [the water] was frozen enough that I said, ‘Do not move, you guys stay right here,’” she said to her children who were looking on. “If I hear a crack, I’m done.”
Residents of Putnam County were coming out of their homes in celebration of the change of weather direction.
As early as Saturday night, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office warned residents that they may see anywhere between 6 to 8 inches, but were glad to only see roughly 4.
Jeff Siefker’s 9-year-old daughter, Dani, and her friend Maddie Erford, also 9, were celebrating a day off from classes at Miller City Elementary School.
Maddie would roll herself down the hill while Dani sledded by.
“I like to roll down [the hill], too,” Maddie said. “It hurts my elbows.”
The girls couldn’t decide whether they preferred playing outside in the snow or not having school more. Regardless, the two friends were happy to spend the day together.
Siefker said though his daughter has also visited Bellefontaine to sled, they primarily visit the reservoir to burn off some energy.
Michelle Arrizola, an Ottawa native, only frequents the Ottawa reservoir, “I don’t like to drive in the snow and it’s right down the street,” she said. “I’ve been coming here since I was little, ever since I can remember.”
Her children, Ruben, 7, Alanis, 14, and Daimeion, 13, all attend Ottawa Glandorf Local Schools and were nearly surrounded by classmates on the hill.
“We like coming here whenever we get a chance to,” Alanis said.
Arrizola said with the rough road conditions in Putnam County, it would have made her commute to work in Findlay risky, especially when her children were off school.
