Seven clean fuel burning school buses were rolled out by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office on June 16th to replace higher polluting diesel buses in its fleet. The buses were placed into service immediately following the rollout at the superintendent’s Transportation Services Center located at 705 S. Union Ave. in Bakersfield. These new compressed natural gas (CNG) powered buses were put on display for the first time as the buses they replaced were taken out of service, to be crushed and recycled with the metal being used to make other products. “Our commitment is to replace at least seven buses each year until our student transportation fleet is powered entirely by CNG buses,” said Kern County Superintendent of Schools Larry E. Reider. “Our poor air quality makes far too many children susceptible to asthma and other health issues. This causes many to miss school. And that means they miss out on valuable learning.” Reider expressed appreciation to the Rose Foundation and the local chapter of the Sierra Club whose $340,000 grant paid a significant part of the $1.1 million cost to buy the new buses. He noted school buses always are a significant purchase for any school agency. But CNG buses are more economical to operate than diesel powered. Oil need not be changed as frequently, and CNG is cheaper than diesel fuel. Seated comfortably behind the wheels of two new CNG buses were KCSOS drivers Cynthia Brewster and Veronica McEvoy. Each has been with the office for about two years and has experienced what it is like driving the old diesels versus the new CNGs. More

He may not be as well known as SpongeBob SquarePants, and he certainly does not live in pineapple under the sea. Yet, Captain Carl Abajian of Seal Beach took children at the Claude W. Richardson Child Development Center on an underwater adventure of discovery they never would have experienced watching the popular cartoon show. Capt. Carl and his traveling collection of live southern California seawater invertebrates came to the Richardson Center on June 18 to educate and entertain students in the Infant Development Program. While not a cartoon character, Capt. Carl was entertainingly quirky for the young ones, explaining how he dove deep to the ocean floor to retrieve each of his live display animals. Donning scuba equipment and breathing through a ventilator, he demonstrated how it was done with his arms simulating the breast stroke. Then, with scuba gear off, Capt. Carl reached into one of several picnic chests and pulled out a gelatinous, moving blob known as a sea slug. “See how smooth and soft he is — it is because he eats nothing but seaweed,” the underwater educator explained to the children. Then, he put the slug beneath his nostrils and took a big whiff. “Another thing about sea slugs,” Captain Carl said. “They smell great.” Soon after, the Seal Beach seawater scholar placed several sea slugs in Tupperware containers filled with ocean water and invited the children to touch, feel and even gently hold one in their hands. Richardson aide Karla Escamilla scooped one out of a container so that a curious infant, Devin Lowe, could get a better look. Escamilla scrunched up her nose and mouth at first, unused to the slimy feel of the sea creature. But soon she was laughing at the curious reaction on Lowe’s face. More