The Driving Force of Education

Cindy Larson has been driving buses for the norther schools of Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) for more than three decades. This year, the roads faced by her and other drivers in the Hanna, Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow area have had more treacherous conditions than any time in recent memory.

Larson, who is now head bus driver and on her 35th year with the district and lives in Elk Mountain, has been around long enough to see a few generations get on and off her buses. She's also seen her share of weather and adverse road conditions. Each school day, she drives to Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow to transport students to Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) High School.

Road Closed

Usually, Larson uses Wyoming Highway 72 which connects Hanna and Elk Mountain. Due to the amount of snow this year, however, she has had to take a longer route and one which takes her on Interstate 80. To pick up students in Elk Mountain, Larson must take US Highway 30 to Walcott, then take the interstate to Elk Mountain and go back the same way.

According to Larson, while this is the worst year she's seen for Highway 72, it's not the first time bus drivers have had to deal with increased snowfall.

"I believe it was 1972 when a bus would drive to a drift on (Highway) 72 and the kids would walk over drift and catch a bus on the other side of the drift to take them to school in Hanna," Larson said. "But since then I don't ever think it has been like this and that is a lot due to the fact WYDOT's (Wyoming Department of Transportation) equipment has improved."

One of the reasons Larson believes the snow has been more of an issue this year than in years past with similar snowfall is due to the RR 316 Fire in 2020. Due to the fire, there is no longer sagebrush to act as a natural snow fence and keep snow from drifting on the highway.

"The drifts used to form on the top of Sand Hill but now they are forming on the bottom, so we know it was the fire that caused this problem, because it is just barren out there," said Larson.

Experience and equipment

Larson has been driving for the school district long enough to see school buses transform and improve safety features. When she first applied to be a driver, then head bus driver Peggy Johnson put her in a two-speed with Larson behind the wheel.

"That was my interview and I was hired," Larson said. "That was how I started."

Since she began in 1988, things have improved greatly. Her first bus, a two-speed, ran on gas and was a manual shift. A feature of the bus was a button which would allow the driver to switch gears without pushing in the clutch. Now, buses are automatic and run on diesel.

"The safety features are almost unreal in how much they have changed," Larson said. "The seat styles are compartmentalized, so they are a lot higher and wider. The cockpit where the driver sits is just like a car. The buses have really improved."

According to Larson, she didn't have any trouble with the equipment she started out with 35 years ago.

"I didn't know they were bad, because that is what everybody had. I think back then, people didn't travel as much as they do now so cars and trucks were like the buses as far as safety goes," said Larson. "Our buses in this district really got better when the state State stepped up and helped the district purchase our  buses with their process."

Not only did working with the State of Wyoming improve the equipment for the northern schools, it also increased their fleet. Larson currently has a fleet of nine buses and, of those, three were purchased in 2006.

High Mileage & Low Visibility

Due to the remoteness of students in the northern part of the school district, drivers can put in a lot of miles.

"Up until two years ago, I had one bus go two hundred miles for a ranch out by Medicine Bow," Larson said. "All of those kids aged out for Medicine Bow and now they are going to Casper. The north end of the district is a different animal than the south end with the wind, weather and dealing with WY 72."

She said US 30 between Medicine Bow and Hanna are different from WY 72.

"On Highway 72 we deal with the conditions and on 30 we deal with conditions and traffic," Larson said. "Putting a school bus on 30 when the conditions are bad, is a little scary."

Lois Buchanan, a bus driver who lives in Hanna, agrees with Larson about how the blinding snow conditions were the scariest moments of driving this winter.

"I had one storm hit and it took me two hours to go to Medicine Bow and back," Buchanan said. "Cindy is right about the lack of visibility being so scary because you have kids with you. They are your responsibility and it really can stress you out, but you can't let them know it. That day I had to stop the bus and wipe the snow off the hood so I could see because it was coming down so fast."

Larson had similar experience traveling to Medicine Bow this winter.

"It took me an hour to get to Medicine Bow and an hour to get back," Larson said. "It was the worst I have driven in years. In years. I was so stressed when I finally got home to Elk Mountain. I felt so helpless not being able to see."

Normally the drive is 15 to 20 minutes.

"It is terrible because you can't see what is in front of you and more terrifying because you can't see what is behind you," said Larson. "You don't know if a vehicle might come up behind and when you have all those kids in the back, it stresses you out. I could barely see over the hood."

Working with WYDOT

Larson said she depends on WYDOT and Highway Patrol to determine if the roads should be closed or not.

"Most of the time 30 is closed because of the interstate, and it is safer to drive, because I call in the mornings to see if we can drive the road," Larson said. "If we know 30 is closed because of I-80 and 30 is actually not bad, we will get the verbal permission. WYDOT is great. They will tell me if it is okay to travel."

 WYDOT is part of the consulting team when Larson is deciding if buses are going out.

"They have also come and plowed the road in front of us to get the kids back home when weather comes in harder and faster than expected. That has happened a lot in general."

Larson said her personality is fairly chilled, and it takes a lot to stress her out. She usually is informed of what the weather is predicted to do.

"I usually get up at about 4:30 (a.m.) and start looking at the road reports and the weather coming in and I gather all the information," Larson said. "I have a good team out here and I contact the principals about what is happening and let them know what I have found out. Sometimes Superintendent (Darrin) Jennings is involved."

Larson emphasizes WYDOT and Highway Patrol are vital in getting the kids, especially this winter, from the outlying areas to Hanna.

"They are essential to our process," Larson said. "We also have a superintendent that has lived in Wyoming for some time so he knows what we deal with in the northern part of the district with how hard the weather can be. There is a real process to make sure the kids are not put in harm's way because of the weather."

Taking kids to different towns for activities also requires checking the weather and planning.

"It is always difficult to make decisions about getting kids to their activities in any winter," Larson said. "This winter has been exceptionally difficult.

Larson said since November started the weather has made it tougher when going to other schools.

"I always say on driving to another school for the afternoon or evening, 'we hurry up so we can wait for two or three hours while the kids are playing'," Larson said. "I enjoy these trips because you do become close with the kids, but when a winter like this hits, with so many bad weather days, sometimes you can't hurry or get them there and I feel bad for the kids. Again this winter has been rough."

As bad as this winter is, Larson still loves the north of Carbon County. She has since her father came out for work at the coal mines when she was 11. Larson graduated from HEM as did her husband and two children.

"This is home. I married a ranch kid from Elk Mountain, so we will never leave," Larson said. "I will be facing more bad winters driving, I am sure. I just hope they won't be quite as bad as this winter has been."