USD 408 board approves bus purchase years ago
Sports reporter
Marion-Florence USD 408 voted 7-0 Monday for the purchase of a 2007 Saf-T-Liner C2 bus.
The bus will replace a 1995 model bus that has a massive engine oil leak.
The newly designed bus is marketed as one of the safest buses on the road with its improved road vision for drivers.
USD 408 transportation supervisor Dick Maggard said the visibility of the C2 is far greater than the normal buses used by most schools today.
The C2 is noted for being one of the most durable and reliable buses on the market, but it was the visibility issue USD 408 superintendent Lee Leiker and Maggard felt was number one.
"A lot of bus accidents are due to visibility challenges for drivers," Leiker said.
The 190-horsepower, Mercedes engine bus will cost $56,438.20, considerably less than most other standard buses.
Thomas Built Buses, the company that has manufactured the C2 since its inception in 1999, said the bus will be ready to use in five or six months.
In other news:
— MHS custodian Bob Good announced his retirement this week. USD 408 member Keith Collett said he will be missed. "He was a good janitor, and a good guy for our kids to be around," he said.
— Marion REC softball/baseball commission board member Casey Case asked the board for help with improvements to the baseball/softball complex. The board unanimously approved $2,500 of an approximate $10,000 upgrade project. The board already had around $2,000 and will ask the city for the rest of the money. The upgrades include: new, larger dugouts on A field, concrete handicap access paths from the parking lot to all fields, and a concrete bunker to keep materials used to maintain the fields.
— The board was presented new ideas on the proposed building project for a new gymnasium, indoor/outdoor pool, and auditorium. Although architect Spangenberg and Phillips is moving on with proposals, the project will not begin unless passed in the April election. If the project does not pass, Spangenberg and Phillips will incur all costs.
— The board approved its yearly goals.
— The board approved, by a 5-2 vote, a $1,000 purchase for a two-inch line from the football field to the practice field well to enable the underground sprinkler system project to get under way.
— Marion High School junior class asked for, and received, permission for an extra fund-raiser this year. The class will be selling wind spinners for front porches with a Marion Warrior design.
— The board approved MHS music teacher Kevin Moler as the new student council sponsor after the resignation of Sarahanne Unruh.
— The board approved a $1,000 salary increase for Maggard.
— MHS activities director Tod Gordon announced the Marion-Florence Peabody-Burns wrestling team has hired Larry Weir as assistant coach. Weir, a Peabody resident, wrestled at his high school in Nebraska.
