I walked about a mile and a half to school, much of it along a busy interstate highway, when I was six and seven...

I have sympathy for his situation, but it's slightly more complicated than subby makes it out to be.

If this was the only kid living within a 2 mile radius of the school, I could understand the school board's decision to cut-back on bus service. However, there are 600 kids affected by this; the decision seems ludicrous.

I used to walk 2 1/2 miles to school, then back again. And yes, part of it was uphill both ways. My dad said it built character.

Yesterday I walked six miles, round trip, to the store. 40 years later, I wonder if my dad wasn't right ;)

Oh, don't worry.

This will work itself out the first time one of the snowflakes gets run over while walking to school.

The massive lawsuits and threats of a complete swap-out of the school board will "fix" it.

Oh, I'm not saying it will be the school board's fault when a kid decides he can walk down the middle of the road since his/her parents weren't involved enough to teach them how to cross the street.

I am also not saying this was a bad decision (in fact, this may have been a relatively responsible fiscal decision from here in the peanut gallery) but, that's what will happen.

/600 out of how many? 600,000? 1.2 million?

SpinStopper: I used to walk 2 1/2 miles to school, then back again.

There's nothing wrong with walking to school. But when you're 6 years old and there are no sidewalks, I have a problem.

FredaDeStilleto: SpinStopper: I used to walk 2 1/2 miles to school, then back again.

There's nothing wrong with walking to school. But when you're 6 years old and there are no sidewalks, I have a problem.

There weren't any sidewalks on the country roads in Montana where I grew up. But there were lots of dump trucks, logging trucks, etc. ...

I jumped into a barbed wire fence more than once getting out of the way of some idiot who figured that nobody would be stupid enough to walk on a country road ;)

SpinStopper: There weren't any sidewalks on the country roads in Montana where I grew up. But there were lots of dump trucks, logging trucks, etc. ...

Roads? Where we're going we don't need...ah, screw it.

cameroncrazy1984: SpinStopper: There weren't any sidewalks on the country roads in Montana where I grew up. But there were lots of dump trucks, logging trucks, etc. ...

Roads? Where we're going we don't need...ah, screw it.

You're not thinking fourth dimensionally ;)

the county didn't order anyone to drive anyone anywhere

Megain: the county didn't order anyone to drive anyone anywhere

Shhhhhhhhhhh, you'll ruin the outrage.

cameroncrazy1984: SpinStopper: There weren't any sidewalks on the country roads in Montana where I grew up. But there were lots of dump trucks, logging trucks, etc. ...

And nothing has changed in the last 30 or 40 years since then? Really, no more cars on the road? Oh, and does this kid live in the same type of country setting you did? No? So maybe your experience is not indicative of the rest of the world.
No way in hell with the world as it is today, would I let my kid walk that distance on that road at 6. I guess I have common since, and this does come from a person that walked and road to school.


////"character" is no excuse for common since

"Sense" when did common "since" matter?

Finally an appropriate thread to use this:

No where in the article does it say he is driving a blind son. Obviously your retarded.

FTA:
"It's certainly not that I don't sympathize with their situation," Carter said. "I have to feel for him. It's just that if I opened the door for him, I'd have to open the door for everybody."

Here ya go Mr. Carter:
"It's certainly not that I don't sympathize with their situation," Carter said. "I have to feel for him. It's just that if I opened the door for him, I'd have to open the door for every blind parent."

It's just that if I opened the door for him, I'd have to open the door for everybody."

Right up there with zero tolerance.

Did he take his seeing eye dog to the hearing?

/what?

Ok so he's a war hero, but why is his wife in prison? They left that important piece of info out.

I can sympathize for him being blind and all, but if you're gonna produce a kid, shouldn't you try to make sure that you have all the necessary resources to give that kid a fighting chance instead of relying on the kindness of strangers and charities? And why the hell is mom in jail? I'm pretty sure if they told us, our sympathy levels would be much much lower.

Sucks for the kid though, he was born into all of this and didn't have a choice in his matters. The parents not so much.

Buy the little snowflake a bicycle. Problem solved.

since....sense

shinji3i: "Sense" when did common "since" matter?

since I got busy typing and talking on the phone/same time.

anything else grammar Nazi?

pvd021: Ok so he's a war hero, but why is his wife in prison? They left that important piece of info out.

I can sympathize for him being blind and all, but if you're gonna produce a kid, shouldn't you try to make sure that you have all the necessary resources to give that kid a fighting chance instead of relying on the kindness of strangers and charities? And why the hell is mom in jail? I'm pretty sure if they told us, our sympathy levels would be much much lower.

Sucks for the kid though, he was born into all of this and didn't have a choice in his matters. The parents not so much.

The mom and dad, were separated. When he found out his son had been put in foster care he went and got custody of him.

Anything the mom did to get put in jail is irrelevant.

Subby needs to be castrated. Or given a cliterectomy, either/or.


From the article:

So, he scrambles each day to find friends or acquaintances to pick up his son, even paying some of them. "That's how desperate I am," he said. "It's never the same person who picks him up."

He's not driving his kid or attempting to. He needs a good rideshare program. Sounds like everybody is poor, there. He's not the only child affected. Freda de Stiletto is right.

Maybe the parents can pitch in and shuttle one another's kids to school, come up with a temporary solution themselves instead of waiting for the school to take care of it.

What kind of taxes is this community people paying? or voted to pay (in which case, they're not at fault)? or voted not to pay (in which case, they are)?

By the way, the father lost his eyesight when he was 19, he's 48 now, but his kid is 6........... and the mom is in prison in California which is why he sued for custody of the kid in the first place. Is he even sure that the kid is his biological son?

How old is mom and why was she in jail?

They're also trying to get the kid diagnosed as a special-needs kid. I wonder if there's any government check fraud going down at any point. Not to say that the guy isn't legitimately blind himself, just that there's something wrong here.

What, no "hero" tag?

pvd021: I can sympathize for him being blind and all, but if you're gonna produce a kid, shouldn't you try to make sure that you have all the necessary resources to give that kid a fighting chance instead of relying on the kindness of strangers and charities? And why the hell is mom in jail? I'm pretty sure if they told us, our sympathy levels would be much much lower.

FTA:
"After William's mother was incarcerated, and still is, in a California prison, he was placed in foster homes. When Millar, who lived in Boston, Mass., at the time, found out, he flew to California to gain full custody of him."

Mom had custody. She farked up, he manned up and did the dad thing, taking the kid out of foster care.

Now, among all the other crap a blind person has to go through, his 6 year old can no longer ride the bus to school.

Asshat hides behind the ol' "If we made an exception for him we'd have to make an exception for everybody" canard. What a sorry excuse for a man. No integrity, and totally lacking the cojones to be assertive and take affirmative action. Part of the problem, not part of the solution. You can be absolutely certain that if he found himself in the same situation he'd find a way to make an exception. Merry farking Christmas, you pathetic bastard.

Come on people! Haven't you seen Mr. Magoo? Give the man a driver's license and the problem will resolve itself in a comical, yet ultimately happy way.




/ Seriously though, pretty sad.

Walk you lazy little bugger!

oh no, the school board is so horrible, someone should do something.

well, you could pay higher taxes to pay for the buses.


crickets.

Lets see...
2 miles to school and then two miles from school.
So that equals about two less hours of in school teaching and no Gym class.

/Seems to be fair for a situation like this.

If only there was some two wheeled personal transportation device for children...

Why does it matter that he's a veteran?

Call a farking cab.

Jegred2:
The mom and dad, were separated. When he found out his son had been put in foster care he went and got custody of him.

Anything the mom did to get put in jail is irrelevant.

The article doesn't mention that the mom and the dad were ever married. Two married people separating is different from two lovers separating -- or two fark buddies. Wonder why she had custody in the first place, and not the father, if she was such a tremendous fark up that she's in jail and the kid is in numerous foster homes instead of being given to his 'father' in the first place.

But back to the story, I feel for the guy saying he's offering to pay the school to pick his kid up -- but the guy can barely afford the taxi rides he's paying to take his kid to school, so how is he really going to pay the school?

Also, what happens to the other parents whose little snowflakes also need to get to school, and are willing to pay money they don't have just like this guy?

The school does need to return his calls, that's bogus not to; but they can't treat one kid special over another just because his dad is a vet and his mom is prison trash.

I also think it's wrong that they have to diagnose the kid with dyslexia to get the school to pick the kid up. Why should dyslexia (versus being in a wheelchair) mean that a kid gets a guaranteed bus ride over a kid who's 'normal'? So will other parents find doctors to diagnose their kid with ADD? What happens to the kids whose parents won't (or can't) get them diagnosed as 'special'?

This is just a case of blind justice.

This country is farked up. We can blow 700 billion on paper bs but we can't help families in need get their kids to school.

When I read articles like this it makes me proud to be an American!

/Woot!

Pus Gut: If only there was some two wheeled personal transportation device for children...

For the parents who are able to see? good point.

I wonder why he moved from Boston to this dump? The father and son moved to Fort Pierce two years ago. What was in Fort Pierce? How long is mom gonna be in jail in California, and what happens when she gets out?

phlegmmo: Did he take his seeing eye dog to the hearing?

Now, that's just in bad taste.

vudukungfu: This is just a case of blind justice.

So the judge did not look at his twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was?

But what did you really come here to talk about?

Don't want the kid walking 'so far' to school? Three options.

1. Buy the kid a bicycle.
2. Move far enough away so he qualifies for busing.
3. Move closer so the kid can see the building from the house.


However, I'm curious how far from the school he actually lives. The article states it is within 2 miles. But would people be complaining as much in this thread if he lives just across the street? What about one block away? Two blocks?

Bayouguy: since....sense

shinji3i: "Sense" when did common "since" matter?

since I got busy typing and talking on the phone/same time.

anything else grammar Nazi?

Lighten up Francis.

There are no sidewalks, and there is a lot of traffic

Ah, great planning by all. If you want kids to walk to school, provide safe passage.

This is a good example of why I almost always vote for tax increases. There are some things that gov. does better than business. And the people who say that charity should be voluntary are all fail right now.

PaceyWhitter: oh no, the school board is so horrible, someone should do something.

well, you could pay higher taxes to pay for the buses.


crickets.

On the flip side of the coin, they could ask to see how the money is/has been spent and make some cuts if there's any pork or wasteful spending found.

I'm always amazed by how the local school board here is able to find the cash to provide bus service when that card has been put on the table (they've tried to force about 400-700 students off the buses on at least two occasions, citing rising costs).

Then again, I do live near Philly... such antics are common.

Walked 10 blocks to school from 1st to 8th grade. Walked home and back for lunch as well. Also from 3rd to 5th grade all students walked once a week 12 blocks to a local church for two hours of "religious education" (public school no less). Enjoyed walking with my buds to school,lots of mischief can be had with six guys, sling shots,chalk, BBs and a good imagination. At the 8th grade level there came the chance to walk girls to and from.

//last week of 8th grade, got 1st stinky finger during lunch.
//yes I asked my buds to guess the smell , one guessed tuna

He should get one of these and put a battery that's double the standard size in it. The thing will haul ass.

Lanctwa: 2. Move far enough away so he qualifies for busing.
3. Move closer so the kid can see the building from the house.

You suggest buying and selling a house in this market, then packing up all your crap and moving it somewhere else ... to stay in a failing school district?

Why can't the family's that were affected get together on a car pool?

Why does it matter that he's a veteran? does being a verteran merit special consideration when it comes to getting your lazy child to school? I could understand the blindness evoking special circumstances, but veteran?
Does being a vet make you more important in America?

When I was a kid I walked, most of the kids walked. The limit was three miles. When they brought it down to two miles a lot of us still walked...and that was for a K-3 school.