INDIANAPOLIS — One of the companies working overtime to get those secondary streets cleared in your neighborhood is getting some extra recognition.
While INDOT and DPW may take care of the major highways and thoroughfares, it's those contracted snowplows that take care of everything else.
"This was one of the worst I've seen. I don't think I've worked in a storm this bad," said contractor Andre Long.
Long and his wife Tonya have been putting in countless hours this week plowing and shoveling as well as salting roads, parking lots and driveways.
"It's been busy, mind-boggling, it keeps your wheels turning," said Long.
He has loved snow all his life. In fact, he was born during the Blizzard of 1978.
"I was actually born in the house because the ambulance couldn't get down the street. The neighbors had to shovel the side street to the main road so they could get the ambulance in," Long said.
That event is what inspired him and his wife Tonya to start their landscaping and snow removal business, ATL Enterprise, to help keep other people safe during winter storms. Their team serves communities inside and outside the city.
"We get the job done so they can get in and do their job. It's helping one that helps the others," said Long.
ATL Enterprise is one of the many Black-owned businesses making its mark on Indianapolis. The minority-owned company was recently honored as the Vendor of the Week by the city's Office of Minority and Women Business Development.
Long said it comes from the heart.
"I feel honored," he said. "It's amazing to know that people depend on you. They're counting on you to come out to make sure that you can come and get a school open so the kids can go to school. You got doctors' offices and veterinarians. We touch them all."
Long said this past week made up for what had been a slow winter for his business. "Snow is like little pennies from heaven."