Club leads drive for bus
MUDDYCREEK TWP— The classic yellow school bus was speckled with snow last Wednesday as it sat in the auction parking lot.
Some Rotarians, though, want to see this Blue Bird fly south — to Haiti, in fact.
"This should be the last time this bus sees snow," said Portersville-Prospect Rotary Club president Bob Alexander.
The club purchased the bus Nov. 11 for the Evangelical Church of the Redeemed in Gonaives, Haiti, after its pastor, a longtime friend of the Rotary club, tried unsuccessfully to purchase a bus for the church's school.
The Rev. Lahens Sanon had traveled to Butler in September to conduct the search, but none of the buses met his specifications and price limit.
A mechanic in Haiti told Sanon to buy a no-frills bus because it is the only kind the shops there can repair, said Omer Hertweck, club secretary. For instance, Sanon was looking for manual brakes and transmission and a specific engine. Sanon also only had $2,000.
When September's auction at Route 422 Sales Auction ended, Sanon put the money in a bank and gave the Rotary the authority to buy the bus.
Sanon has ties to Rotary that dated back 20 years, when as a teenager he came to the area for training and to attend mechanic school. The Portersville-Prospect club sponsored Sanon.
When Sanon returned to Haiti, he started the church and accompanying school for about 125 elementary and middle school-aged students, Hertweck said.
Although his return to Butler County yielded little success in finding a bus, the Rotary had better luck in November. An 18-year-old bus that met the specifications hit the block and a $2,000 bid landed it.
That's not where the story ends, however. More obstacles than just the Caribbean Sea stand between the parking lot and the school children.
Alexander spent part of the morning last Wednesday trying to resolve the legal issues that prevent him from driving the bus to another Rotarian's farm for storage. He needs a license plate. He can't get a temporary one because he's a state resident.
He needs insurance. Hertweck just doesn't know how to cover the liability on a bus. The title is in the church's name, but the church doesn't have auto insurance.
Alexander or his wife plan to drive the bus to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where they will ship it by boat to a Haitian port. Then there will be taxes to pay.
Originally, the club wanted to paint the bus, which still bears the markings of Barnesville Exempted Village Schools in Ohio. Hertweck learned that as the bus' value climbs, so will the tariffs. So instead, they will load the bus with supplies like tires and paint.
Still, Hertweck said the taxes will be about $1,500. The donations that have come in so far don't cover the diesel to drive 1,204 miles or insurance, taxes and the supplies.
The club would also like to load the bus with some gifts. Hertweck said he would like to put some Spanish or Creole textbooks on the bus.
Donations toward the project are welcome, he added.
To donate money, send a check payable to the Portersville-Prospect Rotary, FNB, 1051 New Castle Road, Prospect, PA 16052.
