Bus Routes

LANCASTER - At Tuesday night's Garrard County Board of Education meeting, the board approved a proposal to change bus routes. Currently, there are separate school bus runs, one for elementary school students and one for middle and high school students. However, with the rising cost of fuel, in the 2008-09 school year, all of the students will take the same bus regardless of grade. "Basically what we're doing is going back to the single bus runs," explained Superintendent Raymond Woolsey.

Alice Preston's commute is costing a fortune. For 25 years, the Winchester resident has driven to her job at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lexington. She carpools with family members to keep the cost down. She talks with other employees about sharing a van. Still, Preston spends about $60 each week on gasoline and another $380 annually to park. And with gas prices edging toward the $4 mark this summer, the commute probably won't get cheaper. "We get through it, but it's hard," she said.

School starts Tuesday in Boyle and Danville The opening of schools Tuesday in the Boyle County and Danville districts will be hampered by traffic rerouted to avoid construction at the viaduct on Perryville Road. Some bus routes have been altered and delays are expected. Officials are encouraging parents and students who drive to allow extra time to avoid too much congestion. The viaduct has been closed since June, forcing traffic on the west side of Danville to detour down Fourth Street and along Maple Avenue.

Drivers may be struggling to shell out more money for gas each week, but local school districts are shoveling out thousands more a month for diesel fuel for school buses. “If prices continue to rise, Boyle County and all other school districts are going to have to do some soul searching to figure out ways to make ends meet,” said Mike Pittman, Boyle County school system’s director of operations. However, operations directors agree that changing bus routes and travel plans this late in the school year is not an ideal solution.

LIBERTY - The public will get its first view of the new Jones Park Elementary School during open house 2-8 p.m. Thursday. The school will consolidate the Middleburg and Garrett elementary schools when it opens Monday for students. Principal Joyce Goodlett said guests will get a diagram of the school with names of teachers in each classroom and an information about the school. Roger Durham, transportation director, will explain the changes in bus routes, said Goodlett.

Lexmark employee Greg Cavill is ready for a commuter transit system from Winchester to Lexington. He's the "I spend $270 a month on gas," kind of ready, and he knows 30 to 40 co-workers are that kind of ready too. "It will let a lot of people save money," he said Tuesday night as commuters and officials concluded another round of discussion on proposals for a local park-and-ride service. Now in the final stages of development, officials believe a mass transportation system from Winchester to three major stops in Lexington can be up and running by Sept.

LIBERTY - A new elementary school on the west side of Casey County will be discussed at 7 p.m. Monday during a special called meeting of the Board of Education. Land acquisition will be discussed during an executive session, and site selection and advertising for an architectural firm to design the facility will follow. The new school will have space for 700 students from Douglas Elementary on Ky. 49 north of Liberty; Phillips Elementary on Ky. 70 west of Liberty; and Phelps Elementary on Ky. 910 southeast of Liberty.

In answer to a letter in your newspaper on his views of school closings during snow and icy days, the writer evidently isn’t aware that all school children cannot walk the distance to school, therefore the necessity for buses. It would cost the state school system thousands upon thousands to build schools within walking distance of every student. Many of the roads on the bus routes are curvy and narrow and dangerous, even in good weather. When it’s snowy and icy, these roads cannot be used to safely transport our children to school, causing the need to call school off on those days.

LIBERTY - A new elementary school for students on the west side of Casey County will be built off U.S. 127 South in the Walnut Hill community on land donated by the Tarter family. The Board of Education voted Monday to accept a 40-acre tract, with an estimated value of $400,000, from the Tarter brothers, Donald and David, of Dunnville. More than 600 students with the consolidation of three schools - Douglas, Phelps and Phillips elementary schools - will attend the new school.

Parents, students should expect bus route changes Dear Parents and Students: We want to welcome you back for another great school year. It is our pleasure to serve you. Even though the 2007-08 bus routes were printed in a special Back to School insert on July 26, we want you to know there have been significant changes to our routing this year, and it is our goal to communicate these changes to you and give you more information about our services. We have tried to align our routes by grade levels, and the geographical areas served.

STANFORD - As Lincoln County school officials continue to tighten their financial belts, they are pondering a wide variety of different cost-saving measures, from implementing a staff attendance policy to revamping bus routes. Board members and school officials discussed ways the district might reduce its substitute costs by improving attendance among full-time staff members at a working board meeting Thursday. Superintendent Karen Hatter said the district has already come a long way in that regard, having cut its annual costs for substitute employees from around $2 million down to less than $1 million.

The predictable end to the Paul Stansbury saga at Danville city hall came Friday evening with the announcement that the commission will settle out of court with its recently suspended, now officially “former” city manager to the tune of somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000. It was none to soon for the many Danville residents tired of the drama, the latest in a series of 3-2 majority power grabs in city politics played out with the dismissal of a competent professional.

Drivers may be struggling to shell out more money for gas each week, but local school districts are shoveling out thousands more a month for diesel fuel for school buses. “If prices continue to rise, Boyle County and all other school districts are going to have to do some soul searching to figure out ways to make ends meet,” said Mike Pittman, Boyle County school system’s director of operations. However, operations directors agree that changing bus routes and travel plans this late in the school year is not an ideal solution.

In answer to a letter in your newspaper on his views of school closings during snow and icy days, the writer evidently isn’t aware that all school children cannot walk the distance to school, therefore the necessity for buses. It would cost the state school system thousands upon thousands to build schools within walking distance of every student. Many of the roads on the bus routes are curvy and narrow and dangerous, even in good weather. When it’s snowy and icy, these roads cannot be used to safely transport our children to school, causing the need to call school off on those days.

Lexmark employee Greg Cavill is ready for a commuter transit system from Winchester to Lexington. He's the "I spend $270 a month on gas," kind of ready, and he knows 30 to 40 co-workers are that kind of ready too. "It will let a lot of people save money," he said Tuesday night as commuters and officials concluded another round of discussion on proposals for a local park-and-ride service. Now in the final stages of development, officials believe a mass transportation system from Winchester to three major stops in Lexington can be up and running by Sept.

Alice Preston's commute is costing a fortune. For 25 years, the Winchester resident has driven to her job at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lexington. She carpools with family members to keep the cost down. She talks with other employees about sharing a van. Still, Preston spends about $60 each week on gasoline and another $380 annually to park. And with gas prices edging toward the $4 mark this summer, the commute probably won't get cheaper. "We get through it, but it's hard," she said.

LANCASTER - At Tuesday night's Garrard County Board of Education meeting, the board approved a proposal to change bus routes. Currently, there are separate school bus runs, one for elementary school students and one for middle and high school students. However, with the rising cost of fuel, in the 2008-09 school year, all of the students will take the same bus regardless of grade. "Basically what we're doing is going back to the single bus runs," explained Superintendent Raymond Woolsey.

Parents, students should expect bus route changes Dear Parents and Students: We want to welcome you back for another great school year. It is our pleasure to serve you. Even though the 2007-08 bus routes were printed in a special Back to School insert on July 26, we want you to know there have been significant changes to our routing this year, and it is our goal to communicate these changes to you and give you more information about our services. We have tried to align our routes by grade levels, and the geographical areas served.

LIBERTY - The public will get its first view of the new Jones Park Elementary School during open house 2-8 p.m. Thursday. The school will consolidate the Middleburg and Garrett elementary schools when it opens Monday for students. Principal Joyce Goodlett said guests will get a diagram of the school with names of teachers in each classroom and an information about the school. Roger Durham, transportation director, will explain the changes in bus routes, said Goodlett.

LIBERTY - A new elementary school for students on the west side of Casey County will be built off U.S. 127 South in the Walnut Hill community on land donated by the Tarter family. The Board of Education voted Monday to accept a 40-acre tract, with an estimated value of $400,000, from the Tarter brothers, Donald and David, of Dunnville. More than 600 students with the consolidation of three schools - Douglas, Phelps and Phillips elementary schools - will attend the new school.