Slick roads have kept both local and state law enforcement busy since the sleet began to fall Sunday morning.
Dexter Police Chief Sammy Stone said his department spent a substantial part of Monday pushing cars out of the snow. Stone estimated the department worked as many as a dozen minor slide-offs.
In many cases, he said, the slide-offs occurred when people in lower vehicles have bottomed out in deeper snow at the edge of parking lots and intersections.
"We just ask that people use common sense," Stone said. "If you don't have to be out, don't go out."
Stone said the sun seemed to be starting to melt some streets, and as of mid-morning Tuesday, the melting was improving.
He confirmed that street department workers put down salt solution on Saturday afternoon. In the hours since, workers began spreading cinders throughout town, particularly at busy intersections and hills.
Much like the Dexter Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol has had their hands full.
MSHP Information Officer Cpl. Clark Parrott confirmed that as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, Troop E had received 395 calls for service. Of those calls, 95 traffic crashes were reported with 87 stranded motorists and 18 injuries.
Included in those 15 injuries are seven that occurred in a Stoddard County accident Sunday afternoon.
The crash occurred on Hwy. 153 approximately seven miles north of Parma and involved eight individuals from Poplar Bluff (see page five of Tuesday's Daily Statesman).
All eight individuals were traveling together in a 2004 Dodge Durango driven by Keith Frye when the driver lost control on an ice-covered roadway, left the road and overturned.
Seven individuals, ranging in age from one to 47, received minor injuries. All were transported by ambulance to Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston.
Parrott also confirmed reports of an overturned tractor-trailer on Hwy. 60 early Monday morning due to poor travel conditions. He stated no one was injured in that crash.
With snow and ice packed roads throughout Stoddard County and all of Southeast Missouri, it's logical to expect law enforcement to have their hands full in dealing with back county roads and lesser traveled highways.
Overall, that hasn't been the case.
The Stoddard County Sheriff's Office said that while they have been prepared for the worst, so far they've been surprised by the best.
Chief Deputy Tommy Horton said that overall things have been quiet since the latest storm hit the area.
"I think all of the warnings and information shared with the public helped them to respect this storm for what it was," Horton said. "We've been very, very fortunate."
Horton said that while county roads are seeing slow improvement, most remained snow-packed Tuesday morning.