Parents React to Bus Driver's DWI Arrest

Early this morning, a Windham Middle School bus driver was charged with driving while intoxicated during her morning route.

Kimberly Hooley, 50, of Londonderry was arrested in the parking lot of the school after her driving was described as "erratic" by several parents and students on the bus.

One of those parents was Jenn Cavers, whose son Michael was on that bus this morning. Cavers was in the parking lot of the school to pick her son up this afternoon, which she plans on doing for the foreseeable future.

"I got calls and emails from other parents whose children were on the bus expressing their concern about seeing the bus driver drive up on the lawn and drive down the wrong side of the road and almost hit a child," said Cavers.

According to Cavers, parents of children on the bus knew something was wrong right away.

"Immediately, before the school was alerted or the police, there was concern amongst the parents," said Cavers. "It was observed by several parents that something was just not right with this woman."

Cavers plans on driving her son to school until there is more clarification on what will be done to ensure a repeat incident doesn't occur. She also said that the guidance counselor at the school met with the students who were on the bus today to talk about the incident, but didn't have any details of the discussion.

Also in the queue to pick his children up was Troy Heath, who has a seventh-grader and a fourth-grader in the school system. He normally picks up his children, but does allow his daughter to take the bus to school. He will not change that routine at all.

"We fortunately have a bus driver that we know and have had her for years," said Heath. "I trust her."

Heath did explain how he would react had his children been on that bus.

"I'd want some assurance from the school district or whoever is responsible for hiring the drivers that these people are screened better," said Heath. "Obviously this person has a real problem."

Jim Kauhl hasn't allowed his children on the bus for nearly eight years. He is a parent of a child at the middle school as well as a high-schooler. He disagreed with the harsh way the bus drivers would discipline the kids and make their own rules for each bus.

"We decided as parents it's best for us to pick up and drop off," said Kauhl. "This puts the nail on the coffin for me. This proves my point."

Kauhl did mention that there has been a vast reduction in parents picking up their children from the school.

"If you look at this line here this year versus last year, it has dropped over 50 percent," said Kauhl.

Kim Marotta also takes Kaul's approach, citing that she has had too many problems in the past. It's all about her children's safety.

I know a lot of people can't, but this validates why I pick up my children and drive them to school everyday," said Marotta.

Carmen Vallejo was also waiting in line for her son, who is in seventh grade, to get out of his last class. She questioned if all of the query checks are being done.

"Are they really looking into the past history and asking people if they have a drug history or an alcohol history?," said Vallejo. "If they need help can they come and say I need help and have a problem without being afraid of losing their job?"

Vallejo always picks her son up, the worry being that buses are simply unsafe environments for many reasons.

"You worry about your child being bullied on the bus, you worry that there's no seatbelt on the bus and now you've got to worry that there's something wrong with the bus driver," said Vallejo. "You always hope that the bus driver is going to be the responsible person. If they're not responsible and something bad happens they're the only adult. It's just little kids on the bus. They're all alone."

How Will Your Child Handle the Transition to A New Grade or School This Fall?

With many children starting in new grades or new schools in the fall, how do you expect your child to handle the transition? And how can parents help?

The Stoneham Patch Moms Council are weighing in on this topic and would love to hear your thoughts as well and that can be accomplished by posting a comment in the comments section below.

From Melisa Thorne:

For many kids, the transition to a new school or a new grade is an inevitable event. This will happen at least once in a child’s school career.

My kids are transitioning to a new elementary school in the fall. I don’t expect their transition to be seamless but they are young and younger children adapt relatively easy once they establish trust with their new teachers. I honestly feel for parents who have kids transitioning into the Stoneham Middle School this year. I think this transition is by far the most difficult.

For a parent it is a bittersweet milestone. We are proud of our child’s achievements yet we really hate that he or she is growing up so fast. I truly believe most kids look forward to these years, but that doesn’t mean it is always smooth sailing.

Middle school-age kids are already trying to accept the physical changes with their bodies and to add with that, everything about their school day is changing too. For instance, instead of the setting in elementary school where your child had just one teacher who challenged his or her strengths and understood his or her weaknesses, your child now has several teachers, each with his or her own teaching style and expectations.

Also, your child’s friendships may shift. I think this may be hardest for kids to cope with. Many of the friends your child saw everyday in elementary school will be on different schedules. For some, making new friends and finding their place in the social ladder is stressful. 

While I think it is important for parents to let their children transition at their own pace, I think it’s equally important for parents to pay close attention for signs of distress.

Parents should remain approachable and don’t overreact. I remember Middle School being no picnic for me back in my day. So empathize. You have been there too.

Of course, chronic lateness or consistently low grades may also be a sign of a deeper learning or motivational issue. If your child continues to struggle, schedule a conference with the teacher so you can figure out what steps to take.

When the time comes for my kids to make this transition, I will let them know that I trust them to handle the transition on their own and remind them that I have their back. My goal is to keep the lines of communication open so my kids realize they can count on me.

From Pallavi Shastri:

The transition, which is going to happen for my daughter who is entering the third grade, is pretty big deal for her. Until now she was coming out of the school door with her friends, with me standing there to pick her up, or if she didn’t see me, she at least had her teacher to stand with her until I arrived. But from third grade the pick-up system is a little different and she is getting nervous about it. She is worried how she is going to find me from all those cars.

This is the big transition for her and all I can do is assure her that she will find me. For first few days, I will stand there when she comes out so that she will feel more secure and as she gets used to being a third grader, I will ask her about the live car parking pick-up.

Little kids by nature are like a sponge: They absorb and adapt to new situations easily.

All we can do as parents is to assure them that it is going to be ok and we are there for them. Having a good conversation between the parent and child helps a lot during this initial transition process. Kids can share all the changes happening in their life with the parents and parents can listen to that, offer any guidance, if needed, and just be friends with your kids. In this way you are aware of the transition and you can offer full support to them.

Common Council Items of Interest

For those of you who can't make it to the weekly Common Council meeting, following

is the briefing. From this week's meeting as provided by the council:

The Council adopted a resolution sponsored by Ellicott District Council Member

Darius G. Pridgen requesting of the City of Buffalo's Departments of Law, Police,

and Permits & Inspections work collaboratively with the Common Council to create a

Reference, in a "Frequently Asked Questions" ("FAQ") format, which the public,

Council Members, and potentially all elected and appointed officials, could consult

concerning appointments to City Boards, Commissions, Committees and Task Forces.

Elected and appointed officials, citizens, and candidates interested in serving on

City Boards, Commissions, Committees and Task Forces frequently question what

qualifications, if any, are required for appointment to such positions. Although

some City Boards, Commissions, Committees and Task Forces do have clear and well-

established qualification requirements and appointment procedures codified in

Federal or State law, the City Charter & Code, or as part of a previously adopted or

approved Common Council Resolution, the existence of such guidance is frequently not

generally known nor easily obtained for those that are untrained. In some instances,

the elected or appointed officials charged with appointing individuals are under

significant pressure to make appointments in a timely manner, however there may be

little if any guidance relating to the potential candidate's qualifications. The

Council maintains that the FAQ Reference for appointment to City Boards,

Commissions, Committees and Task Forces would ensure that prospective appointees are

qualified, prepared, and willing to take on the responsibilities associated with

serving on the respective bodies.

The Council adopted a resolution sponsored by Fillmore District Council Member David

A. Franczyk giving permission to the Despensata Corporation to hang approximately 85

banners on light poles along Broadway, Fillmore Avenue, Peckham and Paderewski

Streets, as well as the side streets surrounding the perimeter of the Broadway

Market and Corpus Christi Church on Gibson, Lombard, Clark and Sears Streets. The

banners will promote and celebrate the Easter shopping season and Dyngus Day

activities in the neighborhood and will be hung on April 11, 2011.

The Council approved a Capital Budget Amendment that designated $450,000 to

Infrastructure Improvements in the South Common Council District. The funds were

initially designated for the Nevilly Court Field Turf Project and will now be used

to repave and improve the infrastructure on Marilla Street, Zollars Avenue, Ashton

Place, and South Park Ring Road.

The Council approved a resolution sponsored by South District Council Member Michael

P. Kearns requesting of the City of Buffalo Planning Board, that they work closely

with the Department of Management Information Systems ("MIS") to identify properties

that have received a landmark, landmark site or historic district designation, and

to catalog them in a centralized location on the City's website. The Council is also

requesting of the City of Buffalo Department of Assessment and Taxation that they

also work closely with the City Preservation Board and MIS to have any landmark,

landmark site or historic district designation included with all publically

available assessment information. A property with a landmark, landmark site or

historical designation carries with it a degree of owner responsibility to ensure

that any alterations to the property are appropriate to the historical, aesthetical,

architectural, archaeological, educational, economical, or cultural heritage of the

City of Buffalo, New York State, or the United States of America. However, when

these properties are transferred, new owners are may be unaware of their property's

unique designations and may be at risk of performing property alterations that could

have a detrimental effect on City efforts to retain and preserve historically

significant properties. Currently, a listing of the properties that have received

landmark, landmark site or historic district designation is not easily accessible by

the public, nor is such information stored on one central location on the City of

Buffalo website, nor included with a property's assessment information. The Council

maintains that it is essential to inform new property owners of their properties

historic designation in order to preserve properties that are of major significance

to the history and culture of the City of Buffalo.