Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: As the new school year has gotten underway for many students in Humboldt County, Bridgeville families are dealing with a difficult situation when it comes to transporting their students.
With the rural community on the east side of the Grizzly Creek slide area on Highway 36, bus service has been non existent.
Why bus service is not occurring has turned into a heated argument between community members and the Fortuna Union High School District, especially with the district superintendent, Clint Duwe. In an email to KMOD News, Superintendent Dewey stated the route to Bridgeville was canceled because of the stability of the slide at Grizzly Creek. While the road is technically open, it is inherently dangerous to run a bus through that area on a daily basis. I have communicated that with families on more than one occasion. I have spoken with Caltrans District 1 folks and and they concur that my decision was reasonable and best, given the situation, that the slide could come down at any time. End quote. KMUD News then reached out to Caltrans District 1 for further comment and they relayed the following statement.
Caltrans staff have discussed conditions at the Route 36 slide with the superintendent and many other members of the community.
We were essentially asked if the slide area had had zero risk. Nobody can characterize travel along any roadway, particularly an active slide area, as having zero risk when Route 36 is open. However, it means our staff have determined that current conditions support public travel. With traffic control monitoring and stabilization measures in place, we continue to monitor conditions and traffic is held or the highway is closed when conditions do not support safe passage and end quote. The issue of the missing bus route from Bridgeville was discussed at length during the September 8th Fortuna Union High School District board meeting. Public comments were at times heated and it was clear that many district parents do not understand Superintendent Dewey's reluctance to allow buses into Bridgeville. Audio from the meeting is courtesy of Cal Poly journalism student Tim Smith.
[00:02:17] Speaker B: Hi, my name's Lynn Javier and I live up to 36 and I don't know a lot of these kids that should be down here and not having to do something else and their parents not being able to make the money that they make because of your decision. Sir, I apologize and I'll say to you first, I'm sorry for your loss. Obviously you've lost somebody off the 36 and this is a scary thing for you. But there's an emotional thing I hear is not common sense rationalization.
One person, God bless his soul, got hurt at the very beginning of this unstable slide when it happened a year ago or more.
One person.
There's not been any other person getting hurt on that slide in over a year. So this ban on this kid getting into school is just inhumane and a very selfish thing for you to be doing right now. You're hurting a lot of people in the community. You, not just the people that are up in Bridgeville.
[00:03:15] Speaker A: Later, at the Fortuna Union High School District board meeting, a district student greatly impacted by the lack of bus service to Bridgeville spoke about the difficulties she is experiencing.
[00:03:27] Speaker C: My name is Marlo Poundson, and I am one of the very students being affected by this slide. Right about now, my major deal here, I would love to go to Fortuna. I went to Fortuna for the past week. It was wonderful. I am in the marching band now. I haven't been in a uniform for an entire year because I had to skip out my whole year doing independent study, which is a whole other year of COVID learning for me.
I'm not fabulous at math, but I'm worse now because I couldn't get the tutoring help that I needed.
I couldn't talk to a teacher and then I would send a message and I wouldn't get a response within months.
I have been affected by this deeply mentally and physically. This is a real toll on me. This is my senior year here.
This is the year I want to finish out on because I missed out on my whole junior year. It's really mentally draining on me. I'm extremely depressed at everything going on.
I see the strain on my parents and my neighbors and everyone else coming here.
[00:04:33] Speaker A: Fortuna Superintendent Clint Dewey then showed attendees aerial footage of the Grizzly Slide area on Highway 36 with his interpretation of the situation.
[00:04:44] Speaker D: This is the most recent aerial view of the drone footage of that slide area along Highway 36.
I will say that when I look at this from an objective point of view, when you look at it from the ground, you can still see very large boulders, stumps and trees hovering above the roadway with an attempt at a catchment barrier down below. I do not think that looking at it from the ground does the same justice as you would see from this drone footage, which actually shows this slide pretty much directly above the roadway.
So this is when I look at this raises great concern to me.
[00:05:17] Speaker A: Discussion by the Fortuna Union High School District board consisted mostly of a proposal to potentially reimburse parents for mileage that may not be enough for Bridgeville families. As stated by John Poundstone in an interview with KMUD News this week. John is the father of the student who spoke at the Fortuna Union High school district board meeting.
[00:05:40] Speaker E: It's just gotten ridiculous.
And on top of everything else, the financial is killing us. I am selling things that I have purchased over the last 25 years just to get gas money to get the kids to high school and back.
On top of that, I drive them in. They had to switch from a regular school to a finished school, which is at the same place.
I drive in in the morning, get them there at 7:30, and I sit for four and a half hours because I can't afford to drive back and then drive again.
So I'm losing a day, five days a week.
But this is the only way I can get them an education.
And, you know, as I explained at the meeting, for a lot of kids, this may be the last bit of education that they get.
[00:06:35] Speaker A: Reporting for kmud, I'm April Lewis.
