Maybe we missed the memo. You know, the one from ADOT about how it wasn't going to plow some main roads in the Valley on nights with deep snow — just like up in the Flagstaff area.

Oh — you say it doesn't snow in the Valley?

Our point, precisely.

When is ADOT going to learn that northern Arizona is not Phoenix or Tucson? We have real winters up here and few other resources to provide back-up services to ADOT beyond the city limits.

When storms come up, we count on ADOT to use our tax money to keep roads open to places like Baderville and Fort Valley so that residents can get to a hospital or to work or to their homes.

We don't expect a road like Highway 180 to be as smooth as a billiard table. But the plan by ADOT not to plow the road at all north of Cheshire during a heavy storm is unacceptable.

Yes, we acknowledge that every state agency is short on cash this winter. As Cyndy Cole reported, ADOT will be cutting 11 employees out of more than 60 in northern Arizona and capping overtime. That means it has only enough drivers and plows to cover the interstates and major roads in and around Flagstaff during a heavy storm. Left off the list for up to 12 hours is Highway 180 north of the Flagstaff city limits and Highway 89A south of Forest Highlands into Oak Creek Canyon to Pine Flats.

All we can say is that there's a point below which state government services should not be allowed to fall. If it means that Flagstaff's DMV office has to close earlier each day or even entire days during the week to keep an extra winter plow driver on, then so be it. Or what about ADOT turning over its plowing funds to the county or the city of Flagstaff and having those agencies clear the extra five miles of Highway 180? Or maybe ADOT will have to transfer some funds and personnel out of the Valley and up to Flagstaff during the winter.

Regardless of how many excuses ADOT comes up with for not taking up the suggestions above, there is simply no justification for allowing 500 families in Fort Valley to be cut off by snow all night until mid-morning.

If you think we're coming on too strong, can you think of another winter-weather region that allows entire neighborhoods alongside a state highway 5 miles from a city of 60,000 to be cut off because it simply decides not to plow the highway?

The premise is conceivable only for people who have never lived in communities with winter conditions. Sure, it's possible to get into Flagstaff on a snowmobile. But the whole idea of paying taxes is to pool funds enough to avoid having to buy one of those contraptions — investing in high-clearance, all-wheel-drive vehicles is expensive enough.

Residents of Oak Creek Canyon do have an alternate route to and from Flagstaff, even though I-17 can be a mess even with plows on the road. But folks in Baderville have no other route if ADOT leaves Highway 180 unplowed in a storm. At the least, the agency should plow to the lower turnoff to Hart Prairie Road, which would allow any year-rounders out Highway 180 to have an even chance of making it into and out of town before morning if needed. If not, a snowmobile caravan might not be out of the question.