No one has to be told that arid temperatures have hovered over the area for what — two weeks or so?

Seems like two months.

Heck, maybe it’s two years.

Heat indexes slipping into triple digits. Air conditioning systems whirling on 24-hour cycles, just puffing out cool air, barely keeping pace with the oven-like atmosphere.

And, in the midst of this sweltering sweat box, Germantown is enhancing its arctic assault artillery.

While everyone is sweating, the suburb is planning for inclement icy weather.

This week, the Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved spending $84,000 on another snow plow.

Good lawd. How can anyone be thinking about snow in the midst of all this heat? Unless it is some fantasy to make things feel cooler in your imagination.

The timing actually falls into the city’s planning. Buying now means the new piece of equipment will be ready for winter.

Not this winter. The winter of late 2027 and early 2028.

Now, before everyone gets up in arms, the purchase is for the city’s latest machine to attack the winter precipitation. It’s the latest addition to Germantown’s battle brigade. The suburb invested in snowplow attachments earlier this year, which will be available for the next winter-weather event in a few months.

That will give the city two heavy-duty plows with spreaders on the back and two smaller plows, more like a pickup truck with a plow attachment, for the upcoming winter.

So, they are preparing to offset a situation like last winter, where people were stuck inside for days because the roads were tough sledding.

The normal reaction is for drivers to scream the loudest about the lack of machinery when there isn’t enough available to clear every road from Kirby Parkway to Ridgeway County Club between Wolf River Boulevard and the southern border.

Sort of like when everyone buys a generator when the power goes out, then minimizes the need when the lights come back on.

Well, Germantown added an assist to winter warfare this week. City officials are also publishing maps where residents can check on the road-clearing progress.

And I can still almost guarantee that there will be an event — maybe not this winter — in which all of the equipment and all the employees still can’t eliminate enough snow.

And the masses will be saying again that the city wasn’t ready.

Or didn’t have enough equipment.

In other news, that merger between The Container Store and Bed Bath & Beyond was short-lived, wasn’t it? We wrote a story in June about the two companies after BB&B bought The Container Store.

This week, they announced that the Germantown location would close by year’s end.

Those few months hardly seem like enough time to give the store a fighting chance in the same row of businesses as the highly successful Trader Joe’s on Exeter Road. 

Since Trader Joe’s opened, that area has picked up in traffic and customers — although some folks will tell you that the parking lot and the lack of spaces serve as a deterrent.

But it doesn’t seem like it should have been enough of a drawback to close The Container Store/Bed Bath & Beyond.

After only a few months of testing.

But, hey, there’s a reason James Overstreet, The Daily Memphian business editor, doesn’t let me cover stories for his section.

My business sense — like my math skills — is pretty poor.

— Clay Bailey, suburbs editor

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While sweltering summer temperatures scorch Shelby County, Germantown is preparing for what could happen in future winters.

It’ll be a new school with a fresh look and state-of-the-art technology. By Michael Waddell

A parks employee was arrested Thursday for misdemeanor theft. By Abigail Warren

SpaceXAI is moving full steam ahead while Memphis City Council wants to pump the brakes on data center expansion. By Noah McLane

Bartlett christened its new outdoor athletic facility, which is designed to provide some relief during hot summer months. By Michael Waddell

The store opened its only Memphis-area location in September of 2019. By Abigail Warren

Mississippi Department of Transportation Northern Commissioner John Caldwell will not seek reelection, he said in a recent video announcement. By Aarron Fleming

Hernando’s Board of Aldermen approved a contract with artificial intelligence company Polimorphic for some City Hall operations. By Aarron Fleming

Alderwoman Mary Anne Gibson is facing a challenge from Todd Adams as she seeks reelection for Alderman Position 2. By Abigail Warren

Lakeland officials are trying to make sure that two of the suburb’s main traffic arteries have the proper zoning approach to fit with the city’s character. By Michael Waddell

Heather Fisher was appointed to the Germantown Board of Education last month, a few months ahead of the four-year term she is destined to win in November. Her new position allows her to build upon 25 years of education experience in Germantown. By Abigail Warren

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