Thursday, March 16th, 2023

Student left on bus, investigation pending

By William Kincaid
CELINA - Two Celina City School employees have been placed on paid leave after a preschool student was mistakenly left unattended on a school bus for over three hours on Wednesday.
The bus driver and bus aide responsible for the student were relieved of their duties pending an internal investigation, said superintendent Ken Schmiesing. He declined to provide their names but indicated they have been with the district for some time.
Schmiesing said he will lead the investigation.
"We'll try to be as timely as possible with it," he told the newspaper.
Schmiesing would not comment when asked if the student was left unattended on the bus following the route to school or the route home.
"The student was located by our assistant bus mechanic and did not show signs of injury," Schmiesing wrote in a news release. "Upon being notified that the student had been left on the bus, the bus driver and bus aide responsible for the student were relieved of their duties pending an investigation."
He declined to comment when asked if the student was evaluated by a physician or other healthcare provider.
District officials also notified children's services.
"Because a child was left unattended," Schmiesing said, noting he is a mandatory reporter of such incidents.
Protocols are to be followed "when a bus is parked, and the driver is leaving the bus after students are on it," Schmiesing wrote in the release.
"Those procedures were not followed and the District will get to the bottom as to why, so that procedures can be put in place so that this does not occur again," he wrote. "The safety of our students is paramount."
Subscribe for $16/month
According to the district's administrative guideline manual, at the completion of each bus run, the driver must conduct a complete walk-through of the bus to verify that no student remains on the vehicle.
Additional online story on this date
NEW KNOXVILLE - State Rep. Angie King, R-Celina, insists that a majority of her Republican colleagues in the Ohio House are focused on delivering impactful legislation as a battle for political control plays out in the background. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Chairman visits St. Marys
ST. MARYS - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, on Wednesday indicated investigations by a select House subcommittee into big tech CEOs, the Federal Trade Commission and intelligence officials are going well.
NEW KNOXVILLE - Village mayors of the Golden Triangle highlighted projects and healthy income tax receipts at the Southwestern Auglaize County Chamber of Commerce's annual State of the Villages breakfast on Wednesday.
Mercer County maintained its status as having the lowest joblessness among Ohio's 88 counties in January, although its rate rose nominally.
Mercer
MONTEZUMA - Councilors continued to make plans Wednesday for the upcoming spring clean-up and also discussed options on fixing a sinkhole at the village park.
Pickerington Central's Devin Royal was named Ohio's 2023 Mr. Basketball on Wednesday after edging out 2022 winner Gabe Cupps in voting by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association. Royal won the voting by a margin of 90 points to 87.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Shane Koedyker needed just 68 pitches to pitch the second no-hitter in Wright State University-Lake campus history as the Lakers shut out Brescia University 11-0 in seven innings at Montgomery Field on Wednesday afternoon.