Greeter STEVE PICKETT met us at the door to welcome us. PRESIDENT RON ZIRKLE greeted us warmly and started up the meeting! JO MCLAIN led us in prayer and where or where was JULIUS GLOVER. We had to sing without him! Steve then introduced our guests: An interclub from Apple Valley Kiwanis, Gary McGlothlin, Dennis Hunt, Susan Whitman and Del Carmichael. Helen Downs from the West Valley Kiwanis Club came to announce (and sell tickets) to the Crab Feed which is this Saturday. The price was $25 for two times through the line.

PRESIDENT RON then shared information that he had received regarding the 2nd Annual Yakima Valley Seniors Invitational Golf Tournament, April 24th and 25th which will be a benefit for Camp Fire/ Camp Roganunda. This is a golf tournament for the 50 and over male crowd. They are looking for players and sponsors, but I don't have the person or number to contact since it was not on the flyer.

On the subject of Camp Roganunda, the Yakima Kiwanis Trust voted to donate $25,000 to help with Camp Roganunda expenses this year. Camp Roganunda and Camp Fire are in a very bad financial straight and are looking for assistance. If you would like to help, you can do it through our Trust or donating directly to Camp Fire.

SPENCER HATTON shared his information on 21st Annual Songfest that is coming up on March 21st. Sign ups were started for a great fun evening that helps many young people in our Valley at the Capital Theatre.

GENE ROSTVOLD then challenged us all to attend the upcoming 1B, 1A and 2A Basketball Tournaments that will be held at the Sun Dome. Gene reminded us that it was with our assistance that it is possible that we host these tournaments and bring huge dollars ($3 Million) into the Yakima economy. Our Club and our Trust helped donate to purchase the floor and a Basketball Hoop. Another way Kiwanis Club of Yakima helps our community.

STEVE EMHOFF was the winner/loser of the 50/50 raffle and we all applauded! More for us next time except we aren't sure how much it is.

BECKY SCHOLL then introduced another great program given by Alta Miconi, the Yakima School District Transportation Department Director. Alta entertained and informed us at the same time on all the information regarding school buses in our area. (I know that it does not sound like the most exciting thing but it was great!) School buses started in 1827 in the United Kingdom with a horse drawn bus. The Yakima bus system now has 25 buses which has 84 students per run. Federal standards govern the safety requirements for student transportation. Now all windows are exits and there is also an exit on the roof of the bus. There is rollover protection and seats are crash protected. Seats are compartmentalized, padded and collapse down. There are seatbelts in smaller buses but at this time it would cost $34,000 per bus to install seatbelts. All buses have video cameras and recorders (which are great for discipline issues. GPS units have now also been installed in the buses and the police have access to the information. There are also 2-way radios for communication.

It has been tested and Yellow is the easiest to see. The fine for going through the flashing lights of a bus is $380.

Bus drivers have a strict physical to pass and just have a clean driving record. The do drug screenings and random testing. There is a 10year criminal background check and they even can go into juvenile records. There are 82 employees of the Yakima School Dist. Department of Transportation at this time between the ages of 23 and 72. Retirement is based on physical condition. The bus drivers must chain up their own bus, fuel it and wash and clean it.

Last year buses drove 598,008 miles, using 207,000 gallons of fuel and the buses get 4 to 6 miles per gal of gas. They must pay Washington state tax but not federal tax. The 81 passenger bus costs $97,000 and small ones cost $89,000 and have wheel chair lifts. Buses are built to last 18 years but most of the Yakima buses are 26 years old. Funds are available for replacement only not for growth of the district. Sports pay for their own buses and are not part of the transportation budget. A bus driver works 180 days, 4 hours a day and makes approx. $14,000 a year.

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