Saturday, May 24, 2003
Work to widen Gibson Road is set to begin June 16.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Deby Tieche says she heard a gasp from the pupils behind her as the school bus she was driving leaned toward the ditch on Gibson Road.
A tractor-trailer had approached from the other direction, and when Tieche pulled over to let it pass, the gravel at the edge of the road under the bus tires had crumbled. Between 10 and 15 middle school pupils were on the bus.
Tieche slowly brought the bus to a stop.
"The first thought is the kids," she said. "They knew what was happening, but they didn't know how frightened I was."
After the tractor-trailer passed, Tieche inched the bus back onto the road.
It was the third truck she had encountered in the narrow road that day; she would meet another before her run was over. Most of the trucks were coming from the development under construction at the end of the road.
In response to Tieche's close call May 14, and at the request of school officials, Mahoning County deputy sheriffs began accompanying school buses Monday on Gibson Road. The road, located off state Route 46 in Canfield Township, is 10 to 15 feet wide in places and is marked by potholes and patches.
Widening planned
Work to repave and widen the road is expected to begin June 16. The project had been held up by litigation and by disagreement among the trustees since 2000.
Deputies drive in front of the buses and direct oncoming trucks and cars to the side of the road so the buses can pass. Three buses drive down the road in the morning and afternoon.
Sheriff's Maj. Michael Budd noted that because of budget cuts, most deputies in Canfield can provide only "mandated services" such as serving subpoenas. Budd added, however, that the safety of the pupils is a top priority of the sheriff's office.
"We don't need a bus rolling over," he said.
Schools Superintendent Dante Zambrini and Business Manager Dennis Kowalski wrote a letter to township trustees May 15 describing what happened to Tieche. They asked trustees to install a traffic light on the road or to have sheriff's deputies accompany the buses.
A copy of that letter will be sent to every Gibson Road resident as well as the residents of the development under construction at the end of the road, Kowalski said.
If the road isn't repaired before next school year, the school district will no longer allow buses down the road, Kowalski said.
Trustee William Reese said he expects the road to be repaved and widened to 20 feet by Labor Day.
Residents' lawsuit
A group of residents filed a lawsuit against the trustees in 2000 arguing that the project was unconstitutional. A judge agreed, but her decision was later overturned on appeal.
Another judge, at the request of the Cardinal Joint Fire District, later ordered the trustees to approve the road. The chief of the fire district is Deby Tieche's husband, Robert Tieche.
Trustee Judy Bayus, who has voted against the project, asked the judge to hear what she said was evidence that trustees shouldn't be ordered to improve the road. The judge turned down the request to hear evidence from Bayus. She has appealed.
hill@vindy.com