The old hands of nature in the state Conservation department were quick to lend a helping hand after southwest Missouri was pelted with ice. Spokesman Jim Low says about 150 employees worked in 7 counties to clear roads with timely tools they commonly work with: chainsaws, front loaders and bulldozers. The Department says it served one of the most critical needs immediately after the storm by clearing one lane of numerous roads as quickly as possible to give emergency vehicles access to residents suddenly stranded without power. Low says numerous reports indicated 75 percent of roads, even within towns, were blocked by debris from fallen trees and limbs.