Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
The month of February has several special days – Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day, Leap Day. It is also the American School Bus Council’s Love the Bus Month, in which appreciation for school bus drivers is shown across the country.
Pocahontas County Schools Director of Transportation Duane Gibson said the county is very lucky to have dedicated drivers who transport students in all conditions with the most care.
“Their responsibility is tremendous,” he said. “We have eighteen drivers, six subs and three emergency subs.
“They travel 1,500 miles a day for our kids.”
As part of the month long celebration, Gibson said he sent out letter templates to the schools for the children to write notes to their drivers. The notes have prompts like “I love the school bus driver because…” and “I love the yellow school bus because…”
As someone who has substituted for bus drivers in the past, Gibson knows first hand what the drivers do on a daily basis, from getting up before the sun every morning to get the bus warmed up to taking trips to away games that may see them getting back in the county after midnight.
Regardless of the route or the weather, the bus drivers are always there and ready to make sure the students have a safe trip to and from school and activities.
