As Community Sendoff Is Planned,

Owner-Operators Say Farewell

By John Voket

There were tears and there was hearty laughter as more than two dozen of Newtown’s owner-operators gathered in a parking area on Peck’s Lane June 20 to show off their used buses to interested buyers.

For some, it would be the last chance to say goodbye to longtime friends, neighbors, and partners. For others, it would be a time of transition as a number of owner-operators move onto the payroll of All-Star Transportation.

According to company president John Dufour, a large number of the owner-operators have accepted positions with the town’s new school bus company. And some may be right back driving familiar routes this summer or fall, he added.

There is also a proper sendoff planned as this 80-plus-year-old institution in Newtown disappears after June 30. Roseann Loring and a growing group of volunteers have scheduled a community party to thank and pay tribute to the owner-operators.

The event, which will be “a good old-fashioned American cookout,” according to Ms Loring, will be Friday, June 29, from 4 to 6 pm at the farmers market site in Fairfield Hills. There will be burgers and hot dogs, beverages, desserts, live music and everyone in the community is invited and welcome to bring a dish themselves.

Anyone who is bringing food is just asked to contact Ms Loring by e-mail, so in the event there is an anticipated oversupply of particular offerings, she can let attendees know. Her e-mail address is Rlor83@gmail.com.

As the final morning bus runs of the last day of school were occurring, many of the drivers were being greeted and thanked by parents.

“A father was saying thank you, then stopped and hopped on my bus, hugged me and said they were going to miss me,” said owner-operator Carey Schierloh in a text message around 8:10 am Thursday morning. “This is so hard. There are signs all over.”

A number of the owner-operators and transportation staff at the district contacted The Bee in recent days to express their sentiments as they wound down their final few days on the job. The following are their messages, as submitted:

Kathy Hydeck — “As one of the Transportation Coordinators I want to thank the owner-operators for the excellent service they have provided for the Town of Newtown for the past 80 years. I had the good fortune of working with them for ten years and I can tell you they have gone above and beyond on so many occasions. They have all become good friends and I will miss them more than they can imagine. All I can say to them is move on to the next chapter and make it a great one! Thank you fellow Transportation Coordinator Maritza Nezvesky for all of your hard work and all the fun we have had over the years. Love you guys!”

Beth Koschel, Bus 16 — “I have been extremely lucky in that for the past 15 years I have had the pleasure of doing a job that I really love. I have gotten to see many children go from kindergarten to graduation and have enjoyed watching them grow from the often shy five years old who doesn’t want to leave their parent and get on the bus, to a self confident young adult. I have been often asked ‘how can you handle driving that big bus?’ I would laugh and tell them jokingly ‘just don’t look behind you’... and then say in all honesty... I love it! It is so much better to be able to spend your days with kids than adults... you just never know what they will come out with. As I told you this morning, I inherited my run from my father, Charlie Rudolph. He was an owner-operator for 22 years and I have felt for the past 15 that I have had a guardian angel watching over my bus runs. This truly has been a very special system we have had in this town and I am so thankful that I was able to be a part of it.”

 Violet Mayo, Bus 28 — “I have had the privilege to be an owner-operator for the past 10 years and have driven in town as board of ed driver and sub for five years prior to that. I will miss my children and their families — they have been so kind and thoughtful to me in the past years. I thank God for keeping us safe and for the wonderful sub driver I had, Liz Parsons, for the past few years. They say when a door closes another one opens I am so thankful that I could keep on driving in town with the new company. It might not be the same but it is a job. I hope everyone has a safe and great summer. See you soon. Thank you.”

Marsha Moskowitz, Bus 30 — “I want to send a big thank you out to all my parents and kids that I’ve had all these years. I’ve been driving since 1999. Janet Robinson came in with two major agendas, the high school expansion which is totally unnecessary and cost a lot of taxpayer dollars. The other was to get rid of the owner-operators. So I guess to Janet Robinson — mission accomplished. But I’m not going to let her throw me under the bus. This is a tradition that has been 80 years in the making and now it’s ending, and that’s sad. It was one of the perks of moving into Newtown, and it’s no longer going to be available. Good luck to my fellow drivers.”

LeReine Frampton, Bus 17 — “Many parents want to know what will be happening to us. I was re-nominated by the Democrats, so I will be retaining my Registrar of Voters position. The Republicans nominated Carey Schierloh (Bus 6). So as long as she wins the primary in August I will be able to continue working with Carey. I have always found her to be hardworking and dependable so I am anxiously awaiting the results of the Republican Primary. Many of my parents know that I have been enrolled in a culinary program. I have been doing my internship at the Country Club of Fairfield. I am looking into preparing private parties.”

Gary Wheeler, Bus 4 — “It seems strange that after 40 years, the coming school years will now be so different for me and I find myself at a loss of words to explain my feelings. Sure many, many descriptive come readily to mind when my thoughts turn to the few individuals involved who orchestrated the ‘owner-operator’ demise — but these words are not for print and this is a time for goodbyes. I’ve struggled since September to somehow make known to every student, parent, teacher, and a few administrators, how much a part of my life each and every one has been. This quest has brought me back, time and again, to a poem I wrote a number of years ago. I hope it will be enough.”

Simple Words

I’ve had something to tell you

For a long time

Just simple words really

They don’t even rhyme

And though not spoken most

   eloquently

I pray you’ll remember for all eternity

That now that my little sonnet

   is through

Those simple words were

I Love[d] You

                                             —Bus #4