Wednesday, March 3, 2021
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Vol. 50, No. 36
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
Everyday community heroes: A tribute to
SCHOOL BUS drivers %\ 5$< %$/2*+ 6WDII :ULWHU [EDITOR’S NOTE: School bus drivers provide a vital service to the children and their families in the community. Unfortunately, word count limits do not permit a full tribute to each of the bus drivers throughout Kosciusko County. The PAPER offers a heartfelt hat tip to all the bus drivers, transportation directors and support staffs of the Tippecanoe Valley, Triton, Warsaw, Wawasee and Whitko community school systems.] As Kosciusko County schools resume in-person classroom instruction, once again “the wheels on the bus go ’round and ’round.” And steering those wheels is a small army of heroes who don’t wear capes, dedicated community servants known as bus drivers. Their day begins hours before the first school bell rings, warming up frigid machines, scraping windows and performing multipoint mechanical and safety inspections. Then, twice daily, they perform the tandem tasks of muscling their 14-ton eggshell along city streets, county roads and state highways, and shepherding incalculably valuable cargo, little lives who give their full faith and trust to the driver when they step on the bus. All the while they maintain constant 360-degree vigilance for irresponsibly distracted or inexcusably self-important drivers who blow through flashing stop arms. The drivers invariably do this without harm or incident, day after day, school year after school year, and like a comfortable shoe that is taken for granted, they go unnoticed and unsung. Imagine their gratification in receiving even a small token of appreciation delivered by one of the precious little souls they transport every day. Linda Haughee is in her 26th year of driving for Warsaw Com-
munity Schools, a profession her husband suggested when their children started school. Her favorite part of the job was “having my summers off, so I was home when my kids were home.” Now a grandmother, she noted she is transporting “a second generation of kids on my route.” Gene Farrar, whose name tag carries the term of endearment “Mr. Gene” his students gave him started his 12th year this month. His connection with the students goes far beyond sitting behind the steering wheel. “One of my first students 11 years ago had a child a week ago and they invited me to their house to see the baby, so when I finished my route, I went over there. She sat in seat four on the bus the entire time she was with me.” Trista Clevenger is a relative newcomer to the Warsaw bus crew. She trained for the job 2 1/2 years ago and said “the most surprising thing was how extensive the training was that goes into being a driver.” She added, “The most challenging aspect of the job is earning the respect of the kids, and the most rewarding is the relationship you develop with the kids and parents.” Jackie Clase, along with Farrar, is one of the school system’s trainers. She’s “working on 32 years” in the profession. “When I first started we had gas buses and they were stick shift. They had just transferred from horse and buggy,” she quipped. “All of our equipment was manually operated, even the stop arm. We had a VHS camera in a box above the driver’s seat and you hoped you had it aimed correctly. Now all the buses are diesel automatics and the newer ones have six to eight cameras.” The new technology, however, does not prevent the dangerous actions of other drivers. “When I first started, someone running through the stop arm was rare,” said Clase. “Now it’s an everyday occurrence,” she said, recalling an incident where “one
¶6723· 0($16 6723 ³ :DUVDZ VFKRRO EXV GULYHUV 7ULVWD &OHYHQJHU OHIW -DFNLH &ODVH /LQGD +DXJKHH DQG *HQH )DUUDU HPSKDVL]H GULYHUV PXVW KHHG WKH VWRS DUP ZDUQLQJ WR NHHS FKLOGUHQ VDIH 3KRWR E\ 5D\ %DORJK guy passed me on my right-hand side. I shut the door just as a child was stepping off the bus to keep him from getting hit.” Bus drivers need administrative support, and the Warsaw contingent gets it in spades from Mark Fick, director of transportation. He stepped into the job in March 2018 after retiring from a 24-year career in the U.S. Army. “Dr. David Hoffert told me, ‘Get them to school so I can provide them a sanctuary,’” Fick said. “I promised, ‘I won’t let you down.’” And he hasn’t. He dedicated himself to providing his drivers with “equipment they didn’t have before” and instilled a superlative sense of professionalism in the department. His leadership so skyrocketed employee morale that “other districts call me and ask how we are doing it,” he said. “This job is remarkable. I am proud of every single driver and support staff, and they are proud of this community and what they do.”
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Let People Know About Your Business With Front Page Exposure For Only $97.50/week To Reserve This Space Call Warsaw Office 114 W. Market St. (574) 269-2932
Milford Office 206 S. Main St. (574) 658-4111
Syracuse Office 102 E. Main St. (574) 457-3666
'$,/< 5($',1* $66,*10(17 ³ Warsaw Community Schools bus driver Gene Farrar checks the oil during a daily pre-trip inspection that involves a checklist of more than 80 items. Photo by Ray Balogh.
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