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Education & Youth
New School Buses, Cameras Roll Out This School Year server. A forward-facing camera will capture video in the event of an accident or other incident outside of the bus. When a bus drives on to the Transportation Department lot, video will be downloaded to a server for storage. Each bus will be also be outfitted with a button the driver can push to immediately download footage in the event of a situation. “The main goal is safety for everyone. (The cameras) will be eyes in the sky watching student interaction. It will also be another safe way for the driver to monitor students and protects both the driver and the student,” Gooch said. The five cameras inside each bus are installed in a pattern to ensure all angles of the bus are visible, including over seat backs. Regardless of the type of bus or technology inside, Gooch emphasized the impact students ultimately have on bus safety. “We expect the same types of behaviors on our buses as we do in our school buildings. We are providing a little more safety with on board cameras, but students should still continue to follow bus procedures, as the buses are an extension of our schools,” Gooch said.
Fourteen propane fueled buses will transport students this school year. The long term goal is to replace all diesel fueled buses with propane models.
A new propane fueling station was installed in April to fuel the 14 new propane buses. A grant secured by Director of Transporation Shawn Brady covered nearly 50% of the cost of the station.
Local Scout Earns All Merit Badges
Photo courtesy of Larry Niederschulte.
Some area students will not be able to rely on the familiar rumble of a diesel school bus to alert them to make a run for the bus stop. Fourteen quieter propane buses were recently added to the Grain Valley School District’s fleet. The buses, delivered the first week of July, represent 30% of the district’s total fleet. While the quieter engine is a perk, Dr. Nick Gooch, Assistant Superintendent, Support Services for Grain Valley Schools, is most excited about the cost savings for the district. “With propane, we are locked in for the entire year at $1.20 per gallon. Diesel fuel is currently running around $2.60 per gallon. The savings in fuel alone will be in the tens of thousands of dollars,” Gooch said. Shawn Brady, Director of Transportation, identified and applied for a number of rebates and grants to increase the cost savings to the district. Brady said by utilizing federal rebates, the difference in cost compared to the traditional diesel model was only an additional $300. Gooch said the amount saved in fuel costs with the new propane buses would cover the additional purchase cost in about one day. A propane fueling station was installed on the Transportation Department lot in April. A Department of Energy grant secured by Brady covered nearly half the cost to install the station. Another benefit of propane buses is their reliability in cold weather. Diesel buses can take up to a few hours to warm up in extremely cold weather. Propane buses do not require extended warm ups. “Fuel gelling, which happens in diesel engines, is not an issue with propane buses. The propane engines can start up in temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero,” Gooch explained. Gooch says the long-term goal is to eventually replace the entire fleet with propane buses. Another feature added to all district buses is a new camera system. All 51 buses will be outfitted with cameras, which will be installed over the next week. Five cameras will be placed on each bus, and each bus will be connected wirelessly to the main
Ryan Niederschulte has accomplished something that only a dozen or so out of more than 2.5 million Boy Scouts manage to do. Niederschulte, a 17-year old Boy Scout with Troop 310 from Grain Valley, recently completed all 138 merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America. Ryan’s father, Larry Niederschulte, recalls his son setting the goal to earn all merit badges early in his scouting career. “After earning his third or fourth merit badge he told me he wanted to earn them all. I told him he had no idea the amount of work that would involve, but sure enough he did it. We went to many different states and on numerous outings to facilitate completing his goal,” Niederschulte said. Larry Niederschulte emphasized his son’s troop was helpful in
achieving this goal. Troop 310 is an active troop in the area, with approximately 50 registered youth and 25 adults. The troop completes several service projects each year, including a roadside clean-up along Sni-A-Bar Road as well as the annual food drive. The troop regularly brings in over 1,500 pounds of food to benefit agencies such as the Grain Valley Assistance Council. This year on Memorial Day, Ryan and two other scouts played Taps to an audience of over 300 at a ceremony held at the Blue Springs Cemetery. Outside of Boy Scouts, Niederschulte, is very active in the Grain Valley Marching Eagles. A video of the Memorial Day performance is available on the Grain Valley News website, www.grainvalleynews.com.
