ITR - from Cari - Fort Wayne Indiana, USA

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Fort Wayne Indiana, USA

For InTouchRadio.net (Glastonbury, UK/GLOBAL)

My Son I'm hoping this will get someone's attention and or help with getting the news and radio involved My name is Gerald Martin and I am from Fort Wayne Indiana. This letter is in regards to my son Blake who is 9 years old. My son has been riding the Fort Wayne Community School bus for about five months. On May 5 My son was to be dropped off at his bus stop about 4:00pm at the corner of Ashley and Cook Dr about 4:15 I called the school where my son attends to find out why the bus never arrived at the bus stop. The school told me that they have received other calls as well, but I would need to contact to transportation dept. When I called the transportation dept asking where bus 157 was, they looked on a GPS, also they called the driver. Dispatched told me they where at one location (GPS info) and I heard the driver say they where in another location. I was then transferred to a Robert Rinearson the supervisor. I tried several times asking him where is my son, because I couldn't get a straight answer, and all Robert wanted to tell me his employees are good and he will be safe, and they never have this kind of situation, this went on for about 30 minutes. I did see his bus drive down the street about 4:30 and my son said the driver was trying to drop him off at a location a few blocks away. I then hung the phone up and called the police. I told my story of what was happing and what my worst fears of my son was. Dispatch put me on hold for about 3-5 minutes. The only thing dispatched wanted to talk about was that she called the transporting dept and then went on to say how she knew this Robert and he is a nice guy that he was going to bring my son home. I repeated my self several times and wanted an officer at my house now. When Robert pulled into my driver way about 4:50-5:00 I ran up to the passenger side of his truck, he was then letting my son out on the other side and Robert demanded that I close his door and back away, so I did. I told him to get the hell off my property and he said its okay I WAS a police officer. When I told Robert I was on the phone with the police he called the city police that works for him. I was not given a fare shot when the officer ask me what happened, I started telling my side, then he just asked for my name and personal info. I ask my son if anyone said anything to him (bus driver or Robert) or touched him inappropriately, he wont talk about it. Something was going because I was getting several stories on the phone and from which I was hearing the bus driver talk. About 530 I drove and spoke with the principal of his elementary school. She told me the bus company called her and said that he is not even registered to ride the bus. We did so, my wife registered them back in January of this year. Besides how would two children ride the bus for about five months and nobody not knowing anything (my daughter was on a field trip). I believe someone is trying to cover up quit a few mistakes today. There is no scare in this world until a father has the feeling that he may loose or his son is or was molested, or be stranded a few miles away .This is just the small part of what happened. update 05/09/2008 8:30am This was posted on my comments section of my blog last night. It sounds like she is a bus driver herself or might be the driver of that day, who knows. Like Robert R on the phone that day with me defending his company and every employee that works for him, she was doing the same, defending. Is that all that they are worried about? I wont be the judge of that… below is what she sent me last night. "wtf?!! i work for the trans dept of FWCS. HAVE YOU EVER DRIVEN 75 SCREAMING KIDS WITH DIRECTIONS ON PAPER IN RUSH HOUR?????????HUM YOU WOULD RUN LATE TOO! i feel for the sub who was driving that day, because he or she was probably bitched out by 25 other sets of parents too due to the lateness. You ever think that mabey they had to pull over because a child needed attention? Like that strand of flu virus still going around that we ahve to clean up all the time? Or mabey to 2 kids last week that had full gran-mal seizures for the fist time on big busses. On another note, GPS normally works, but nothing is foolproof, and our thank mitch daniels for cutting education funding 3 times in 5 years which inturn cuts our dept ie: the computers and new busses and assistants. As for Bob Rinearson, he is a pompus ass most of the time and is our department disiplinarian. But, he is an ass who does his job, and normally well. He works with off duty FWPD officers who assist us in everything from kids not cooperating, gang fights, abuse and neglect, to IRATE PARENTS that want to hurt the people trying to care for their children. Registering the kids through school for stop does not mean they are through transpotation. And field trips don't count. Seriously, U HAVE NO IDEA. Go to private schools, or get involved to know what to do we have video taping everything on our busses, why would we want to harm your boy?" Posted by cari on Thursday, May 08, 2008 at 6:02 PM For InTouchRadio.net (Glastonbury, UK/GLOBAL) ~ InTouchRadio.net or InTouchRadio.net Friends do not necessarily agree with any content sent in for the Blogs Page ~ InTouchRadio.net provides a service for you to respond to.