Bartenhagen earns bus competition honors

Lake Pend Oreille School District bus driver Norma Bartenhagen recently claimed second-place honors at the Idaho State School Bus Safety Competition in Meridian recently.

The competition consists of two written tests — one on general knowledge and another on vehicle inspection — and a driving course with 10 events. The events include student loading, railroad crossing and clearance, backup alley, diminishing clearance, stop line, right turn event, offset alley, straight line, parallel parking, and curb line, James Koehler, Lake Pend Oreille School District director of transportation, said.

School bus drivers who want to attend the state competition must first compete in a regional “roadeo,” which was hosted this year by LPOSD at Sandpoint High School in May.

“The practice for these events is one of our best training tools to sharpen driver’s skills and knowledge and make our student transportation program better and safer,” Koehler said. “St Joseph’s Catholic Church and Bonner County Fairgrounds were very supportive this year allowing our drivers to practice some of the driving events in their parking lots, which was very helpful.

Norma has been driving school bus for Lake Pend Oreiile School District for six years and has a positive affect on the students of the district every day, he added.