Mushy gravel roads cause bus routes to change

By J.C. Taylor | Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Two area school districts pulled buses from gravel roads after melting snow and rain made the roads too soft and treacherous.

Because of that, the Sherrard and Westmer school districts will only let buses travel on hard-surfaced  roads until further notice.

“This is the first time we’ve had to do this since the late 1990s,” Sherrard interim superintendent Rene Noppe said. “I had to dust off the policy, and we got warnings from a couple of the road commissioners over the weekend that roads were in bad shape.”

Parents in the Sherrard School District were notified via letters Monday that transportation routes would only be run on hard-surfaced roads. Parents in the Westmer School District also have been notified. Sherrard parents with any questions can contact the unit office at (309) 593-4075. Westmer parents should contact the bus garage at

(309) 584-4630.

“We’re going to go for the time being on paved roads only,” Noppe said. “We’ll be doing that until things get better or dried out.”

— J.C. Taylor