Kids in Eugene-Springfield area schools had classes today and they weren't too pleased.

That's because their counterparts in Oakridge had the day off, thanks to a more generous dumping of snow.

Officials say a lot of folks were quite surprised by the early season storm.

There's six to eight inches of snow on the ground, school is called off, and there's a snowball fight to go to.

Life is good if you're a middle school student in Oakridge.

"My little brother woke me up at 6:00 this morning and said it's snowing."

That was the early morning wake up call for Jordan Moe. He and middle school buddy Aaron Bowles are having a day in the snow.

Bowles tells KVAL today, "It's pretty fun having no school today...having lots of snowball fights and stuff."

The kids weren't the only ones getting early calls this Tuesday morning. The heavy snow sent the Oakridge snowplow into action at 5:30 a-m.

Oakridge City Administrator Gordon Zimmerman, says, "It's really been a moderate event as far as we're concerned. The schools of course are canceled and all the activities."

While this is certainly an early season snow event, Zimmerman points out, "People are very smart up here; this is not unusual. They know how to drive in the snow."

Where you expect to see fairways and greens, other kids had other ideas this day. There were more snowballs and general horseplay at the local golf course, a huge expanse of white, with strange flags sticking up.

The groundskeeper says he's waiting for another sight on the golf course, but they've not made their appearance.

Phillip Titus explains, "I'm surprised the elk didn't show up. Usually when it snows, we get 75 to 100 of them come down here when we get a good blanket of snow."

The hot business spot in Oakridge this day could have been local tire shops, where crews could barely keep up with the demand.

So with snow inundating Oakridge before December 1st, what are the odds for a white Christmas 2006?

That would make the day for 8th grader Jordan Moe, who adds, "Yeah, it would be pretty fun."

Tire crews had sold 80 sets of studded tires at Les Schwab today through early afternoon. That's big business.