NORTH DIGS OUT FROM 1ST SNOW

Many schools in the north country were closed and thousands of residents were still without power Wednesday as the remnants of the season's first snowstorm were cleaned up.

The National Weather Service in Buffalo said Hooker, in the town of Montague, received about 19 inches of snow, and more than 12 inches was reported just east of Watertown.

Ten inches was reported at the city water treatment plant.

At the height of the power outages, almost 9,000 St. Lawrence County customers were in the dark, with the majority of the outages in the towns of Stockholm, Lawrence and Fowler. There also were about 2,800 resicustomers without power in Jefferson County, with the majority in the towns of Adams, Lorraine and Ellisburg, and about 1,700 in Lewis County, with the majority of them in the towns of Watson, New Bremen and Diana.

At 5 p.m. Wednesday, about 12,000 customers in the three counties had no power in their homes, according to National Grid's Web site; by 10 p.m., that number was down to about 2,700, most of them in St. Lawrence County.

"The heavy, wet snow and gusty winds throughout the region caused this damage," Alberto Bianchetti, National Grid spokesman, said Wednesday afternoon. "We're expecting to have the majority of the restorations completed by midnight tonight, but some of the more scattered outages in rural areas may not be restored until tomorrow."

Telephone problems late Tuesday forced St. Lawrence County 911 emergency dispatchers to use alternative numbers for about two hours.

An unmarked Potsdam village police cruiser parked near the police station was damaged just after midnight Wednesday when a live power line landed on it. The cruiser suffered three flat tires, holes burned through the hood and fender and some smoke damage to the interior.

St. Lawrence Central School in Brasher Falls delayed the opening of school two hours only to lose power at 11 a.m. Until electricity was restored at 1:30 p.m., school staff kept children in their classrooms and fed them a lunch of pizza, sandwich wraps and salad.

It made more sense to keep school in session than release children whose parents might not get the news, Superintendent Stephen M. Putman said.

"It's scary to let a 4- or 5-year-old off the bus without knowing whether anyone is going to be home," he said.

Joseph D. Plummer, deputy director of Jefferson County fire and emergency management, said Jefferson County Dispatch recorded 626 calls of downed power lines and motor vehicle accidents between 3 p.m. Tuesday and noon Wednesday.

"We didn't see a lot of incidents along the river, because they didn't have the amount of snow we had inland, but the majority of the incidents were pretty much spread throughout the county," Mr. Plummer said Wednesday afternoon. "Things have slowed down now and are diminishing now that the weather's clearing up."

While some areas of Lewis County have received upwards of two feet of snow over the past couple of days, county officials reported no major problems.

"We dodged a bullet," James M. Martin, the county's emergency services director, said Wednesday afternoon. "It could've been worse."

While some counties to the south expect power outages into the weekend, most Lewis County residents were expected to have electrical service restored by Wednesday evening, he said.

Although the snow made roads slippery, no major accidents were reported, Mr. Martin said. "It was more people sliding in the ditch than accidents," he said.

Mr. Martin also credited the local highway departments.

"The towns got out good this morning," he said. "By 9 o'clock, pretty much all the roads in the county had been reopened."

The Lewis County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday evening issued a travel advisory. It was lifted about noon Wednesday.

According to officials at the New York State Zoo at Thompson Park, the zoo was closed Wednesday because the eagle and turkey vulture exhibits were damaged by the weight of the snow.

Staff and volunteers were able to get all of the affected animals out of the exhibits and into secure locations.

"We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated staff and volunteers that jump into action to ensure the well-being of the animals," Thompson Park Conservancy President Dale Klock wrote in an e-mail.

Many schools throughout the tri-county region were closed Wednesday.

Brian A. Rivera Coello and Logan S. Bice, both 11, spent their day off building a cave out of the snow.

"We're using a shovel and a broomstick to dig through the snow," Brian said.

When they heard that school was closed, both Brian and Logan said they "jumped up and down and screamed."

Brian's sister Rachel I., 8, said she was happy she got the day off, but was upset because the snow was blocking her satellite television reception.

"I don't like the snow because it makes me cold and I can't watch TV, but I like it because sometimes it's fun to play in," Rachel said.

Rachel and Brian's sister Emily A., 9, spent her time building a snowman.

"I've never built one before so I'm really excited," Emily said. "My neighbors helped me so I could do it right."

Even though they were having fun playing in the snow, the children were contemplating what it would be like trick-or-treating in snow Friday night.

"Last night I thought, 'Why is it snowing in October? Now we're probably going to have a snowy Halloween,'" Logan said.

Meteorologist Alan P. Blackburn said, however, that it will be warmer today and throughout the weekend.

The high temperature today will be in the low 40s, with it reaching the middle to upper 50s on Friday and into the weekend.

Times staff writers David Winters and Steve Virkler contributed to this report.