Butler Mayor Maggie Stock declared a snow emergency Saturday morning in the city.

Saxonburg and Cranberry Township also have declared snow emergencies, meaning other municipal employees and funds may be used to help with snow removal.

Also, the public is encouraged not to travel unless it is absolutely necessary.

Butler County got one to two feet of snow from Friday night through Saturday.

Kenmac Rentals & Sales in Butler spent Saturday morning digging its own equipment out before it could be rented.

"We've had a lot of calls on (Bobcat tractors and back-loaders) this morning. We're digging out first, then we can rent them out. We need to get things cleaned up here so we can do business," said Larry Oskin, a manager at Kenmac.

Since preliminary weather reports predicted only eight inches of snow for the Butler area, Oskin said few people rented snow equipment early.

Ski rentals, though, have glided along with a number of people picking them up.

"I have not had any calls on generators, but we haven't had any power outages around here as far as I know," Oskin said.

As of 10 a.m. Saturday, Allegheny Power reported fewer than 5,000 people without electricity in the county, but more than 87,000 customers were without power across its service area.

Linda Allison, owner of Linda's South Side Restaurant on Center Avenue, said business was surprisingly good Saturday morning.

"It's a lot better than I had predicted. We've had quite a few customers and the phone has been ringing to see if we were open," she said.

Although the restaurant opened about a half-hour late at 5:30 a.m., two dedicated cooks walked to work. Allison, along with her granddaughter, waited tables until another server could trudge to the restaurant.

"We're not nearly as packed as we usually, but we're doing a fairly decent business. I guess I should be happy we have anyone," Allison said.