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By
The
Associated
Press
CLEVELAND
—
School
bus
drivers
and
education
officials
in
Ohio
and
across
the
country
are
adding
the
fight
against
terrorism
to
their
back-to-school
check
lists.
In
Ohio,
state
education
officials
have
expanded
safety
checklists
to
have
drivers
sniff
cargo
areas
and
tire
valves
for
odors
that
could
indicate
a
bomb.
They
also
are
looking
for
suspicious
lumps
in
seats,
odd
wires
under
hoods
or
unusual
marks
on
fenders.
“This
is
about
precaution,”
said
J.C.
Benton,
a
spokesman
for
the
Ohio
Department
of
Education.
“It’s
not
in
response
to
attacks.
This
was
in
the
works
before
the
London
terrorist
stuff.”
In
a
program
that
started
Friday,
drivers
will
get
anti-terrorism
training
as
part
of
a
national
School
Bus
Watch
program.
The
goal
is
to
have
all
20,000
of
the
state’s
bus
drivers
conducting
security
checks
within
two
years.
The
program,
organized
by
a
partnership
of
several
national
groups,
has
a
goal
of
training
600,000
school
transportation
employees
nationwide.
“School
bus
drivers
already
play
an
important
role
in
the
safety
and
security
of
their
communities,”
said
Dale
Krapf,
president
of
the
National
School
Transportation
Association,
one
of
the
groups
that
organized
the
effort
announced
last
month.
“School
Bus
Watch
represents
an
important
part
of
continuing
that
role
and
gives
them
some
additional
tools
that
will
help
them
to
keep
their
communities,
their
vehicles
and
our
children
safe,”
Krapf
said.
Drivers
will
participate
in
90-minute
sessions
that
will
include
a
brief
history
of
terrorism
in
the
United
States
and
things
drivers
can
do
to
protect
themselves
and
children.
Pete
Japikse,
transportation
director
for
the
Ohio
Department
of
Education,
said
the
groups
began
to
lobby
the
Transportation
Security
Administration
and
the
Department
of
Homeland
Security
for
anti-terrorism
training
several
years
ago.
They
designed
a
program
and
secured
federal
financing
last
fall.
Kevin
Mallory,
transportation
director
for
the
school
district
in
Portland,
Maine,
is
creating
a
program
for
his
30
drivers
based
on
anti-terrorism
material
he
collected
at
a
state
conference
in
July.
“Districts
are
becoming
more
responsible
about
what
they
should
be
doing,”
he
said.
“They’re
making
this
a
front-burner
issue.”
———
On
the
Net:
School
Bus
Watch:
www.schoolbusinfo.org/
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