Update: Vandals sideline Middletown school buses
10:26 AM Mon, Oct 19, 2009 | Permalink
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MIDDLETOWN, R.I. - Children in the Middletown schools needed to get their own rides to school this morning after a school bus employee discovered 17 of the district's buses each with their two front tires flat at 5:30 Monday morning. The superintendent put out a call to parents telling them they'd need to drive their children to school because of the vandalism, Facilities Director Edward Collins said. The district believes the buses will be back up and running for afternoon drop-offs, he said. The police are investigating the vandalism, according to Police Lt. Robert S. Nutt. They ask anyone with information about the vandalism to contact the detective division at (401) 846-0029 or the anonymous tip line at (401) 842-6516. Mechanics discovered that the valve stems on each front tire were removed, Collins said. They're working Monday morning to put valve stems back in, inflate the tires and check whether any were also punctured, Collins said.
Just a few of the district's 2,300 students got a bus ride to school because the bus that takes students to the Bradley Center in the middle and high schools wasn't parked with the district's other buses, Collins said. Also affected were Middletown students who are bused to the vocational program at Rogers High School in Newport. The 17 buses that were damaged were among 18 that were parked in the lot at Middletown High School, located at 130 Valley Rd., according to the police. The district contracts with First Student for its busing needs. The bus company's terminal manager notified Collins of the damage when she found the vandalized buses Monday morning, Collins said. The buses were not damaged when they were last seen around 4 p.m. Sunday, when some drivers and perhaps maintenance crews were at the school, Collins said. This story was originally published at 8:01 a.m. and was updated at 9:23 a.m. 
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