Steve Bicehouse, director of Butler County Emergency Services, was right Tuesday in observing that the county “dodged a bullet” regarding Hurricane Sandy, Superstorm Sandy or “Frankenstorm,” the massive weather event that pummeled the East Coast and points inland.

If there’s anything good to say about the storm from Butler County’s perspective, it’s that it forced a preparedness exercise that could prove its value in future weather emergencies.

Emergency officials can now evaluate the preparations made leading up to Sandy’s landfall to judge whether anything could have been done better.

Not only were the storm preparations valuable for the county, but also for municipalities that engaged in pre-storm planning.

In Butler, Mayor Maggie Stock said Monday that Streets Department crews had been clearing leaves from storm drains to keep the anticipated heavy rainfall from flooding streets.

In the Evans City area, residents, business owners and municipal officials engaged in preparations in case Breakneck Creek overflowed its banks.

Evans City Police Chief Joe McCombs said a meeting was held Monday to review storm preparedness. In addition to McCombs, that meeting involved borough council members, borough emergency manager Tim Schoeffel, Fire Chief Mark Adomaitis and a Forward Township supervisor.

Breakneck flooding caused major problems as the powerful remnants of Hurricane Ivan struck the area in 2004.

Meanwhile, school districts and organizations watched storm developments and pondered whether to delay school-start times or cancel classes completely. Some erred on the side of caution in canceling Tuesday’s classes.

Many residents conducted their individual preparations, such as by buying a generator — where they could find one. Others were more concerned about whether trick-or-treat night would be rescheduled. The Butler Eagle published a list of new times and dates on Tuesday.

County motorists, meanwhile, got a reprieve, unlike parts of Maryland and West Virginia, where snowfall in some places exceeded a foot, and where the snowy conditions were described as blizzard-like.

But there was wet snow reported Monday evening, as well as some gusty winds after midnight.

Officials in this county met for pre-storm planning, and they should follow that up with a post-storm analysis — even though this county dodged a bullet.

Perhaps for the next big storm the county won’t be so lucky.