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Show 14 Vernal Express Wednesday, August 25, 1999 us driveirs ready fto ca-ry jprecDoiias caircjjo By Carol Jewart Express Writer The Uintah County School District's Department of Transportation has just hired seven new bus drivers who are currently under going required training to be able to transport students safely to and from school. Darline Ufford, a 20-year driving instructor for the district helps provide and instill proper guidelines into new and experienced drivers. "There are about 40 hours of training behind a new driver before they are allowed to get behind the wheel of a school bus full of students," stu-dents," stated Ufford. "The first trip new drivers take with students on board requires an experienced driver driv-er to tag along. After all they will be carrying a very precious cargo, our children." All drivers have to complete eight hours of classroom in-service instruction; in bus instruction, student stu-dent management, First Aid, CPR, defensive driving and operation lifesavcr. Drivers must complete a day of practice and a day of evaluation evalua-tion on the obstacle course to be prepared for the beginning of the new school year. Buses are being cleaned and polished and routes have been looked at to make sure all students of the district have service serv-ice to and from school. In preparation prepara-tion for the upcoming new substi fir : y rr n Vs : I; i wx - i ' , Conducting a pretrip inspection are Instructor Jane Guffey and student stu-dent Brenda Rogers. FW works ffoir woinnieini's irofessioinal uiglhtis By Carol Jewart Express Writer In the latter part of the 20th century centu-ry women began a mostly one-sided race with men regarding employment employ-ment and now at the brink of the 21st century women just might surpass sur-pass them in many fields. Women should be more optimistic opti-mistic that the future influence of women will be one of the most powerful transforming forces of the twenty-first century. Business and Professional Women (BPW) is a club that supports the legislative platform to bring about equal rights for women and actively work toward the improvement and enforcement of the United States and Utah constitutional provisions for these rights. "All professional -women in the work force should join this club," suggests Shirley Wilkins, past president pres-ident of the Venial chapter of the BPW. "We get together once a month to discuss issues pertaining to the work force involving women. It's a great support club and all the women work towards the same goal, to ensure equal rights. Working women working together." togeth-er." The BPW puts on an annual garden gar-den show and tickets are sold to go on a tour of gardens throughout Vernal. The proceeds from the tour go toward a scholarship in recognition recogni-tion of the importance of education. To the educated woman, knowledge is power. According to an American woman survey printed in The Ladies Home Journal, August, 1999, fifty-five percent of all bachelor's bach-elor's and master's degrees have been acquired by women. By the year 2007 the US Department of Education predicts that 9.2 million American women will be enrolled tutes are currently completing their training to fill in as needed. All kindergarten and preschool route drivers will be working on fine-tuning their routes and contacting parents par-ents concerning stop times and locations. New drivers are trained on an empty bus but it's a whole new ball game once the bus is filled with students. stu-dents. "You wouldn't think it would make that much difference with elementary ele-mentary students," explained Ufford. "But average elementary student weighing about 60 pounds, and put 84 of them on the bus, it adds up and it's even heavier with the older kids. The added weight totally changes how the bus handles; han-dles; the difference is like night and day." All drivers have a CDL license and must be ready to complete a very extensive pretrip inspection of their bus daily to make sure it leaves the yard road worthy. The obstacle course is geared to help drivers refresh their memories and make sure nothing has been forgotten forgot-ten throughout the summer months. It's not only a testing of competency competen-cy but also a time for learning. The post trip isn't quite as extensive, Ufford said, but helps to assure the bus will be ready for the next morning morn-ing and to make sure all the chil-" dren have gotten off the bus and haven't crawled under a seat and BPW members, Shauna Williamson, Shirley Wilkins and Nancy Grua fly high at the BPW State Convention held at Salt Lake City in May, 1999. in college, compared with 6.9 million mil-lion men. Today women outnumber outnum-ber men in such jobs as accountants and economists. In the next decade, ninety-six percent of respondents expect that most women will have a female doctor, lawyer, accountant or stockbroker and eighty-eight percent think the great scientists of the next century are just as likely to be women as men. Marketers are pitching women on everything from cars to computers. Twenty-two Twenty-two percent of women surveyed say they earn more than their husbands hus-bands and twenty-five percent make the same amount. Still fifty percent of the women work force needs to catch up, but the numbers are looking good. "Unless you can promise your daughter that she will marry and her husband will make enough money to support her," commented Debbie Lamereaux, school to careers coordinator at Uintah High School " and that he will never die, then daughters should be encour 0, PolIsP 4 JS-v' I i ' School bus drivers survive the annual obstacle course. i --' - 4 " Frank Abplanalp cleans his bus for fallen asleep. "One year we had a child that had gotten out of their seat and climbed behind a box that comes equipped on a wheelchair bus in the back next to the door," said Ufford. "The only way you could see the child was to go around and open the back door. Little kids do fall asleep on the bus quite often." The obstacle course also helps drivers refresh their references. In a vehicle this big you don "t just get in and drive it and miss the obstacles that are out there," said Ufford, "unless you know exactly where to start your maneuvers. During the backing up and winding around the barriers, rules are pretty lenient. A driver can go the vehicle length aged be better educated and be able to support themselves after school." The BPW uncovered some interesting inter-esting statistics: In January 1997, there were 105 million women age 16 and over in the US. Of that total, 62.7 million (59.7) were working or looking for work. The US Department of Labor is projecting that between 1994 and 2005, women's labor force will increase from 46 to 48 percent, nearly double the growth rate for men. In 1995, 60 percent of all employed women worked in traditionally tradi-tionally female dominated occupations. occupa-tions. Two out of every three temporary tempo-rary workers are women. Women comprised 44 percent of the total number employed in executive, administrative and managerial man-agerial positions in 1996, up from 39 percent in 1988. .A z . ,- i t jl V ' . the start of school. plus 10 feet." "There is nothing like driving a bus" said, Joan Scheffer. secretary and route coordinator. "It's a lot different than driving a car. Everybody looks out for you and you're able to sit up there where you can see everything. Buses are easy to maneuver once you get the hang of it." With buses 40 feet long, drivers must leam how to read side mirrors. mir-rors. Without that knowledge a bus driver would be in big trouble. According to guidelines, a person must be at least 21 years old to get a CDL license but Ufford expressed a desire to hire someone that is emotionally mature without discriminating. dis-criminating. "Most people don't prv .'V. 1 fc?? .""-U-vV- r V.". A The home of Dale and JoAnn Merrill is a hit at the BPW Garden Show. In 1996, 42 percent of women in executive, administrative and managerial man-agerial positions were employed in the service industry, compared to 3 1 percent of men. Women are also much less likely than men to be employed in manufacturing, construction, con-struction, transportation and public utilities. Of the 1,960,000 engineers in the US in 1996, only 167,000 (9) were women, up from two percent in 1976. Working nine-to-five seems to fit more of a man's schedule than a woman's. Women are finding new ways to work, employers who are willing to allow flexibility, more home employment, telecommuting and job sharing. These schedules are more out of necessity than convenience. con-venience. While seven out of ten women still think they have to be married to be happy, the trend is slowly leaning to the fact that some women will consider marriage only in a selective sense. If a woman does choose to marry they expect more from their male counterpart Husbands and fathers are expected to do their fair share of parenting and housework to be successful and pull their own weight financially. v. , Darline Ufford is an instructor for Uintah County Transportation. consider driving a school bus until they are older and more mature any way," Ufford said. "Each potential driver must first fill out an application, applica-tion, go through a. finger print check, a local background check and have a clean Motor Vehicle Record. "There isn't a one of us in the department that isn't qualified to . take over a bus if need be," said Ufford. "A CDL license isn't all that's required, you have to be school bus certified .which adds the 40 hours of instruction right up front and eight hours every fall on the obstacle course, as well as, other training. Usually people who really shouldn't be driving a school bus will filter themselves out throughout the year." Ufford said bus drivers must have . a true love for kids in order to be able to do the job effectively. There will be kids that will try the patience of any bus driver but Ufford said to just have a lot of fun with it. Drivers know what to do if a child presses an issue and presents pres-ents a safety hazard for others. A lot of steps will be taken before, a student loses hisher riding privileges. privi-leges. There are 39 contracted regular route drivers with the ratio being 20 men to 19 women; six substitutes currently in the system with five additional in training. Currently, there are 51 buses including the 39 routes, four activity and eight spares. The 39 route buses share the responsibility of running 179 separate sepa-rate daily routes. Just to know the extensive training train-ing all Uintah County Bus drivers have to go through is comforting, especially when it comes to our kids. Three out of five divorced women according to the survey, do not plan to take the plunge or walk down the aisle again unless they are deeply in love. Some women are even leaning lean-ing towards being a single parent, if they can afford it, claiming they can be just as happy single as married. A high percentage of women going for a second go-a-round at marriage have adopted the "queen level treatment" treat-ment" from the men in their lives. Being more selective is becoming the norm when looking for boyfriends or husbands. Women today have to have more self esteem because, more time, than not, they have to look out for "good ole number one," themselves. They are no longer bound by traditional rolls and have decided that it's good to be a woman, even in frolls of authority and it's OK to show your feminine side. Women today feel and look younger. Those between forty and forty-nine say they don't feel as old as the date that appears on their birth certificates. It must really be true, "You don't get older, you only get better." Calendar of Events August 4-28 Quilts by "Quiltcrs on the Edge," quilting guild and from the community are on display at the Western Heritage Museum, as well as hand crafted clocks of a wide variety by Gene Bigelow are being displayed. August 21-28 Up to 250 hang glider pilots will be taking off from Blue Mountain southeast of Vernal. Be there early to watch the pilots set up their colorful crafts and talk to some of the world's best hang glider pilots. For more information informa-tion call Kim Bartcl at 781-4400. August 21 A potluck picnic will be ht!J for all vetenj'is beginning at II a.m., sponsored by American Legion Post 124 in the Jensen Park. August 26 Dino-Sewers meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the USU Extension, 152 E. 100 N. . third floor Setger basics will be featured. For additional information informa-tion contact Kathy Kitchen 781-0440. 781-0440. August 28 Concealed weapon permit holders, police officers or anyone interested in defensive handgun shooting, come try an international interna-tional defensive pistol league style match and see about forming form-ing a Uintah Basin Chapter of the IDPA. Great training andjfun shooting with realistic scenarios; will be held at Zufelt Range, 14 mile west of Bottle Hollow on Highway 40 beginning at 4 p.m. Bring an automatic pistol or revolver, any caliber, hip holster, spare magazine or speed loader, 100 rounds of ammunition, hearing hear-ing and eye protection. For more information call Dave Boender 722-2769 or Alan Haslem 353-4634. 353-4634. Cub scout leader training from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Uintah Stake Center, across from Davis Elcmentry School. The nine-stake Uintah Basin LDS Singles 31 and older club will sponsor a barbecue with swimming and games to be held at Naples City Park and .blue water slide, 1701 E. 1900 S. in Naples. Bring a potluck salad, dessert or chips. Dinner at 6 p.m. and water slide from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. September? The Vernal Ladies of Elks will meet at 8 p.m. at the lodge to discuss the Utah State Fair and ideas for the new term. September 11 Celebration of Family! Workshops for teens and adults. Activities, for children. Childcare for 18 mos. to 5-year-olds. Many workshops on communication, care for self, marriage, and parenting par-enting by outstanding presenters. Free! 9:30 a.rri. to noon at the Vernal Middle School. For more information call Nancy Goddard at 789-4640. DAVDAVA Chapter 10 annual potluck picnic will be held at 6 p.m. at the Naples Park. To place items of public interest inter-est on the Community Calendar mail to Vernal Express, P.O. Box 1000, E-mail, editor vernal.com or call the Vernal Express at 789-3511. Materials are subject tQ edit. Deadline is Monday at 12 noon. |