Thursday, March 28, 2024

Cascade School bus driver Klein takes the long road

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Seventy-six miles. Twice a day.

That’s the length of George Klein’s #2 bus route for the Cascade School District. It’s the longest route on the district, and likely one of the longest in the state.

Not only does Klein’s route go north of Leavenworth six miles past Cole Corner on Highway 2, but also includes the south side of Lake Wenatchee and meanders through nooks of Plain, including the Ponderosa neighborhoods.

Klein is the man for this job. Time at the wheel, about three hours each shift (which includes his secondary route to the Discovery School), doesn’t daunt Klein, and neither do the extremes of weather.

Tim Bentz, CSD Transportation Director, said, “George starts the earliest. He’s not back until 5 or 5:15 in the afternoon. It’s demanding in terms of time. And he sees the extremes in road conditions that few other drivers see.”

Driving such a route requires precision, and Klein has it down to a science. After going to bed by 7 p.m. each night, he leaves his home near Blewett in time to start driving by 5:38 a.m. each morning. During snowstorms in this hearty district that eschews snow days, Klein leaves 15 minutes earlier. 

“When it snows I plan to get to my first pick up on time. It’s inevitable that the route will take longer on snowy days, but I can at least start it on time.”

Klein worked for the district from 2002 to 2007. He took a hiatus and worked for an excavating company, and then was diagnosed and treated for cancer. He came back to the district after his recovery in 2010.

How bad can the winter driving be? Think black ice, slippery slopes and limited visibility.

“Keep it out of the salad,” Klein and other drivers might radio to each other, which means avoiding the bushes on the sides of the road. And “don’t be a sugar cookie” refers to getting covered in snow from getting too close to a snow bank.

“Camp 12 Road is the most treacherous road I deal with in the winter, even more so than Beaver Hill.” Camp 12 Road has narrow steep sections that can get slippery. 

Over the years, Klein has had to put chains on the tires only five times, always in order to climb out of the Ponderosa community. He’s grateful he rarely needs chains, because it takes over a half hour to install them, wearing his neoprene gloves to keep his hands from freezing. After cresting the hill, he takes them off again.

“This corner is known for black ice,” Klein remarked toward the end of his morning route, knowing the roads like the back of his hand.

The toughest weather conditions Klein faces are high 20s and snowing. He recalled one such time when three school buses needed to stage their descents down Beaver Hill. Once one reached the bottom safely, they radioed up to the next one to descend.

Having southern California roots has never kept Klein away from snow. A seasoned mountaineer, he has summited several tall mountains in the winter, including Hood, Whitney and San Jacinto.

Klein, an avid outdoorsman, counts wildlife encounters as one of the perks of driving through forested terrain. Of course there have been lots of bears. 

But he’s also spotted four cougars while driving. One winter, literally seconds after picking up students at their bus stop, a cougar leapt from a snow bank into the road and then took off into the woods. A bull moose sauntered by in the Ponderosa community.

When not driving, Klein trains new drivers. He teaches classroom sessions and behind the wheel. New drivers need 20 hours of driving experience and 12 classroom hours before they start.

The training is about technique, and understanding how a bus reacts differently than a car. Klein teaches drivers to apply the brakes lightly and steadily and to know when to not use them.

Klein isn’t the only early riser on the district. The first child hops aboard at 6:10 a.m. She said she gets up between 5 and 5:30 a.m. every day.

At every bus stop it’s safety first. He’s aware of where the bus is in relation to the white line dividing shoulder and road. He engages the “kid lights” and stopping paddle to warn drivers that kids are boarding the bus. When there’s snow on the ground, he has to consider road grade and camber, ditches and sign posts.

Fog presents another challenge. In that case, Klein clicks on the flashers, goes slow and uses a mental checklist of landmarks near each bus stop, so he can always stop in time.

Klein and the students share friendly exchanges when each one hops on. “Good morning, George,” most of them say. He only occasionally gets on the microphone to remind someone to “please sit down.”

He knows all 50 of them by name. “I’ve been driving a lot of these kids for five years.” 

Klein acknowledges bus driving is not suited for everyone. “You have to like kids.”

He enjoys the split shift. During the in-between hours, he goes home and hikes with his wife, Rene, and German shepherd, Axel. They’ll head out for an hour or two exploring the dirt roads, trails and animal trails. He makes time for a nap and lunch, readying himself for his second bout at the wheel of the six-geared school bus. He’ll walk again in the evening, stretching his legs after hours in the driver’s seat.

And he’ll do it all again the next day, carrying his precious cargo back and forth along the windy roads beyond Leavenworth.

“George is really dedicated. He’s so dependable,” Bentz said.

The children who share a couple hours each day with George Klein, riding in bus #13, are lucky to be in such good hands.

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