Just when Platte County thought it might escape the clutches of Old Man Winter, that ornery old geezer got the last laugh. After a mostly snow-free winter, two nasty snowstorms in the span of five days crippled not only the County, but much of the Midwest. On Feb. 21, nearly one foot of snow fell, one of the largest area snowstorms in decades. Then, early Tuesday morning, as Platte Countians had pretty much cleared most of that blizzard away, another wicked winter storm blasted the area with upwards of eight inches of fresh snow.