MARTINS FERRY — With the National Weather Storm forecasting a massive winter storm that is expected to dump heavy snow across the region this weekend, Martins Ferry officials are calling on residents to use both caution and common sense when venturing out in blizzard conditions.

“There’s not a whole lot you can do on ice, so slow down your speed and try to be a little bit slower and cautious,” Martin Ferry Services Director Andy Sutak said.

The significant storm is expected to blanket the Ohio Valley with at least six inches or more Saturday night into Sunday morning. An arctic cold front moving in on Friday could lead to icy conditions ahead of the snow event.

“Don’t come pulling on the back of somebody right away because then you have to hit your brakes and then you slide right into them,” Sutak said. “The same with the stop signs. You slide through it and a car comes by and you have an accident. Just be smart and give us some time to get the streets cleaned and plowed. We will get them as fast as we can.”

Martins Ferry Police Chief Vince West echoed Sutak’s advice.

“I hope everybody drives safe,” he said. “Like Andy was saying, watch your speed. You make the choice to go out and drive and, if it’s not clear, it can come back on you.”

Sutak also asked for patience for the road crews.

“Please understand our guys don’t live in the street department,” he said.

“Some live out in other areas too and they have to drive to the street department to get into the trucks and then get down to the salt bin, so it does take a little bit of time. Like I said, if it’s early in the morning, they have to get up, get their mentality together, get to the garage. We will try to get the trucks out and the plows out as soon as we can.”

Sutak said the city will be prepared for whatever the weekend weather brings and will have plenty of salt despite the high-demand.

“Salt is not real plentiful out there because everybody is using it with the weather and ice that we’ve had in the northern part of the state,” he said. “I got a couple truckloads coming in so that should shore us up. Our trucks will be ready before we leave on Friday. As soon as I get the call or get a chance to look at the roads, we will get our guys out there.”

Mayor John Davies said the snow will likely delay trash removal, but maintained the job will still get done.

“Trash will run a little bit behind. When it gets bad out, we can’t put our guys out there,” he said. “When it snows, it puts us behind because we plow the main roads and the school and then the whole town, and it can be problematic when you are driving down an alley with five or six inches of snow. I understand if your trash has been picked up at eight for the last four years on a Monday, but it might be nine o’clock next week. It may be 10 o’clock but we will get it.”

The mayor also asked that residents exercise caution on Mackey Road.

“The bottom of that road is torn up from the water break. We can’t really do a whole lot with that thing other than fill it in when it’s bad,” he said “People do normally get stuck whenever it’s snowing out, but hopefully will work on it [before the weekend].”

Sutak repeated his call for patience and good judgement.

“Bear with us and be smart and be careful,” he said.

“Who knows what we are going to get. I’ve heard all the way up to 10 inches.” Davies added. “I just hope everybody stays safe through the storm.”