A Roanoke City Public Schools kindergartener was mistakenly placed on a school bus and dropped off at an apartment complex, prompting his parents to search for him for about two hours, reported WSLS News.
Terry Mills and Daniel Howard arrived Thursday at Round Hill Elementary School expecting to pick up their 5-year-old son, D’Terrion. His parents said he was a regular car rider and did not have a bus pass.
When D’Terrion was not at the designated pickup area, school staff checked buses and reviewed surveillance footage as the family tried to determine his location.
“I’m just still frantic,” Mills said. “At this point, I just, I want to know where my son is.”
According to the school division, D’Terrion mistakenly boarded a bus on his second day of attendance. The bus’ only stop was Westwind Apartments.
After the bus dropped him off, another student accompanied D’Terrion to the apartment complex’s leasing office. An assistant manager recognized that the child was at the wrong location and contacted the school.
The district said approximately 17 minutes elapsed between D’Terrion exiting the bus and the leasing office notifying school officials. His parents said the overall ordeal lasted about two hours from the time they initially began searching until they were reunited with him.
Mills said the family was relieved D’Terrion avoided walking into the street, entering a stranger’s home or getting into an unfamiliar vehicle.
Roanoke City Public Schools said it immediately notified D’Terrion’s parents after receiving the call. The family subsequently met with a school division leader to discuss the incident.
The district said it investigated the situation and is taking appropriate personnel actions. It is also working with its transportation provider, Zum, to reinforce bus and car-rider procedures among students, staff members and drivers.
District officials thanked Westwind Apartments management for helping keep the student safe.
Howard said the family shared its experience to emphasize the importance of closely monitoring young students. The parents are now working with the district to transfer D’Terrion to another school. Officials declined to provide additional information about that request, citing student privacy laws.
A school bus caught fire Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 79 in Harrison County, West Virginia, temporarily shutting down the southbound lanes, reported WBOY News.
According to the news report, emergency crews were dispatched at approximately 3:07 p.m. after Harrison County 911 received reports of a vehicle fire on Interstate 79 South, close to the Jerry Dove Drive exit. Responders arrived to find a school bus engulfed in flames.
No children were reportedly aboard the bus at the time of the fire. The driver safely exited the vehicle before crews arrived and was not injured. Photos submitted by residents to local news reporters appeared to show the fire originating near the bus’s rear wheels, though officials have not confirmed the cause. The incident remains under investigation.
The fire reportedly prompted authorities to close the southbound lanes of Interstate 79 while firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze, and crews ensured the area was safe. Harrison County 911 reported the highway was closed in the area by 3:39 p.m. Traffic resumed after emergency personnel cleared the scene.
According to the article, the Bridgeport Fire Department and Bridgeport Police Department responded alongside the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office. Firefighters worked to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading while law enforcement managed traffic.
Officials have not released additional information about the school bus, including which district or transportation provider operated the vehicle or whether it was in service before the incident. No additional vehicles were reported to be involved.
Authorities have not announced a cause of the fire, and no further details were immediately available. The investigation is ongoing.
A Mercer County Public Schools transportation secretary known for her positive attitude and dedication to student safety was named Hometown Hero, reported WVVA News.
According to the news report, Amber Dillow, who has served as secretary for the school system’s transportation department for four years, was recognized in May for her behind-the-scenes work helping keep daily transportation operations running smoothly.
While parents and students often see school bus drivers each day, much of the coordination that supports school transportation happens out of public view. Dillow’s responsibilities include answering calls, organizing transportation for curricular and extracurricular trips, and assisting drivers with questions and scheduling needs.
Dillow said her work is driven by a desire to help others rather than a need for recognition. “I just like taking care of people and helping them get places where they need to be,” she told local news reporters.
Colleagues reportedly describe Dillow as someone who brings energy and positivity to the workplace regardless of the challenges that may arise during the day. “She’s excited. I’ve never seen her upset or whatever to come in to work,” said Mercer County school bus driver Jamez Keith. “She’s always excited. She’s joyful.”
Keith said Dillow’s willingness to help drivers and quickly answer questions makes a difference for transportation staff. “She’s usually very helpful with any driver,” Keith told reporters. “Any time we have a question or whatever, she’s usually spot on. She’ll answer right quick. And then usually it’s really helpful when she does that.”
Hometown Hero Also Makes a Difference Behind the Wheel
In addition to her office duties, Dillow occasionally fills in where needed, including driving a bus when staffing shortages arise. “She also drives as well,” Keith said to reporters. “If she’s needed to sub on the position, she’ll help out, too. If we need anything, she’s there.”
Keith said he wanted Dillow to know how much she is appreciated by fellow drivers and the community.
Dillow said the Hometown Hero recognition is meaningful and reinforces her commitment to supporting others. “I’m very appreciative that he feels that way,” she said. “In a job that is tough, I just try to make them smile.”
intensive investments of its kind, according to the report, with new fueling operations capable of being set up in as little as a single day.
This expansion is bolstered by a growing adoption of renewable propane, a true drop-in fuel that 32 percent of propane fleets now use to achieve up to an 80 percent reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions without investing in new infrastructure, modifying vehicles, or changing driver behavior.
RICHMOND, Va. – Nine schools across the country will soon add propane autogas curriculum to their automotive training through the Propane Autogas Vehicle Inspection Grant Program.
The schools incorporating the curriculum, Propane Autogas Vehicle Inspection: Introduction for Automobile Service Technicians, into their classrooms this fall are:
ACE Center at Virginia Randolph — Glen Allen, Virginia
Angelina College — Lufkin, Texas
Capital Region BOCES Career & Tech — Albany, New York
Cordova High School — Cordova, Tennessee
Florida State College at Jacksonville — Jacksonville, Florida
Future Ready Complex — Georgetown, Texas
Hudson High School — Hudson, Wisconsin
Iredell Statesville Schools — Troutman, North Carolina
Pierce County Skills Center — Puyallup, Washington
The grant program, offered by the Propane Education & Research Council, helps educational institutions and career centers expand existing automotive programs with propane-specific curriculum, hands-on resources, and instructor training. Each approved recipient receives up to $7,500 in grant support, including a propane autogas training aid valued at more than $5,000 and funds to support instructor participation in a Train the Trainer class and program marketing.
“Skilled automotive technicians are essential to keeping today’s fleets operating safely and efficiently,” said Elena Bennett, senior manager of industry training and education at PERC. “By bringing propane autogas curriculum into classrooms, these schools are giving students valuable exposure to proven alternative fuel technology and opening the door to more career opportunities in transportation, fleet service, and the propane industry.”
As part of the program, participating schools also identify a Propane Advisor to support instructors, answer propane-specific questions, and speak with students about propane’s role in their communities. They also assist the school in bridging the gap between schooling and a career and connecting them with the propane state association and OEMS for more specific engine training.
PERC extends its appreciation to the Propane Advisors and industry partners helping support these schools as they add the curriculum, including Blossman Gas, Inc.; Casella; Ferrellgas; Hillside Service & Repair; NEXIO Power, Inc.; Roush Cleantech; Superior Energy Services; and the Town of Mooresville.
About PERC: The Propane Education & Research Council is a nonprofit that provides leading propane safety and training programs and invests in research and development of new propane-powered technologies. PERC is operated and funded by the propane industry. For more information, visit Propane.com.
Student transportation leaders often encounter unique situations that require creative solutions to meet student needs. An island off the coast of Virginia’s Eastern Shore required a solution that looks very different from the classic yellow school bus.
Accomack County Public Schools serves about 5,000 students who attend 11 kindergarten through 12th grade. Three of these schools are located on islands off the coast of the state.
“Tangier Island is located off the western coast of Accomack County in the Chesapeake Bay, and unlike our other island, Chincoteague, Tangier is only accessible by boat or airplane,” explained Danielle Clark, the district’s public information officer.
The small island of Tangier only has a population of 436 residents. (Photo courtesy of Accomack County Public Schools.)
The small island of Tangier only has a population of 436, and Clark shared that residents rely on ATVs, bicycles, golf carts and few cars for transportation. When a student with disabilities needed transportation to school, the district’s transportation department purchased a dedicated golf cart to ensure safe and reliable transportation.
“The driver, Mr. Kim Parks, is affectionately referred to as Mr. Kim or Sox by the students and staff,” said Clark. “He is the all-around handyman of the school and takes great pride in his role of helping students, staff and the community as a whole.”
Chris Reeder, transportation supervisor at Accomack, said his department is responsible for providing and maintaining the golf cart used on Tangier. He continued that when the batteries needed to be replaced, staff had to transport the new batteries by boat to the island.
“We also have to meet the boat for any trips the students go on there,” said Reeder. “They arrive over here on the boat, and we take them by bus to various locations of field trips.”
Students on Tangier are reliably transported to and from school through efforts from the district’s transportation department located on the Virginia mainland. (Photo courtesy of Accomack County Public Schools.)
This is just one story of a unique geographical or needs-based scenarios that requires creative solutions from student transportation departments. In North Carolina, the state’s Department of Transportation posted a video of a school bus being transported to and from Knotts Island to provide transportation for students in Currituck County.
A similar situation exists in South Carolina where students are ferried from Sandy Island to the mainland where they board a school bus. Boats can also be more commonplace when transporting students in Alaska, British Columbia and other locations surrounded by large bodies of water.
A trailblazing regional greenhouse gas partnership on the East Coast is considering possible changes or expansion that would allow it to keep building on its success — and the stakes grew higher last month with the reelection of Donald Trump.
The 11-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, established in 2005, is the country’s first regional cap-and-invest system for reducing carbon emissions from power generation. Since 2021, administrators have been conducting a program review, analyzing its performance since the last review in 2017 and weighing potential adjustments to make sure it continues to deliver benefits to member states.
The role of such programs is more crucial as Trump’s pledges to roll back federal climate action leaves it up to cities, states, and the private sector to maintain the country’s momentum on clean energy over the next four years. In RGGI, as the regional initiative is known, states have a potential model for scaling their impact through collaboration.
“RGGI has not only been an effective climate policy, it’s been an extraordinary example of how states can work together on common goals,” said Daniel Sosland, president of climate and energy nonprofit Acadia Center. “It is a major vehicle for climate policy now in the states, more than it might have seemed before the election.”
How RGGI works
RGGI sets a cap for total power plant carbon emissions among member states. Individual generators must then buy allowances from the state, up to the total cap, for each ton of carbon dioxide they produce in a year. The cap lowers over time, forcing power plants to either reduce emissions or pay more to buy allowances from a shrinking pool.
States then reinvest the proceeds from these auctions into programs that further reduce emissions and help energy customers, including energy efficiency initiatives, direct bill assistance, and renewable energy projects. Since 2008, RGGI has generated $8.3 billion for participating states, and carbon dioxide emissions from power generation in the nine states that have consistently participated fell by about half between 2008 and 2021, a considerably faster rate than the rest of the country.
“It has really thrived and been really effective across multiple administrations,” said Jackson Morris, state power sector director with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “RGGI is a winning model. It’s not theoretical — we’ve got numbers.”
Currently, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont are part of the program. Virginia joined RGGI in 2021, but in 2023 Gov. Glenn Youngkin repealed the state’s participation, a move immediately challenged in court; a judge ruled last month that the governor lacked the authority to withdraw the state from initiative, though a spokesman for the governor has declared the state’s intention to appeal.
There is widespread agreement that RGGI will endure despite likely federal hostility to climate measures. There was no attempt to take direct action against it during Trump’s first term, nor has there been any concerted industry opposition, said Conservation Law Foundation president Bradley Campbell, who was involved in the founding of RGGI when he was commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Supporters also note that the program has historically had broad bipartisan support: Participating states have been led through the years by both Republican and Democratic governors and legislatures.
Politics has had some influence over the years, though only at the margins. New Jersey, a founding member of RGGI, left in 2011 when Chris Christie was governor, but returned in 2020 following an executive order from his successor. Pennsylvania joined in 2022 through an executive order from the governor, but its participation is now being challenged in court.
Still, RGGI’s foundations are solid and will remain so, experts said.
“The basic infrastructure has weathered the political winds over the decades,” Campbell said.
Looking forward
Nonetheless, RGGI will need to make some carefully thought-out program design decisions during its current review to make an impact in the face of falling federal support for decarbonization.
One question under consideration is whether to maintain the existing trajectory for the overall emissions cap for the program — a reduction of 30% between 2020 and 2030, then holding steady thereafter — or to continue lowering the limit after 2030.
The RGGI states are also contemplating a possible change to the compliance schedule that would require power generators to acquire allowances worth 100% of their carbon emissions each year, and certify compliance annually. The current system calls for certification every three years, and only mandates allowances equivalent to half of carbon emissions for the first two years of each period.
The program is looking for ways to appeal to potential new participant states that have less aggressive decarbonization goals than current member states without watering down the program’s overall impact on decarbonization, said Acadia Center policy analyst Paola Tamayo. Acadia suggested possible program mechanisms such as giving proportionately more allowances to states with more stringent emissions targets to incentivize tighter limits.
“At this point it is critical for states to maintain a high level of ambition when it comes to programs like RGGI,” Tamayo said. “There are different mechanisms that they can implement to accommodate other states.”
The program review is expected to yield a model rule some time over the winter, though updates may be made into the spring as the RGGI states receive and consider feedback on how to accommodate potential new participants.
States will also need to maintain and strengthen their own climate policies to magnify the impact of RGGI, Campbell said. He pointed to Massachusetts, where Gov. Maura Healey needs to show “bolder leadership,” he said, and Maine and Vermont, where the Conservation Law Foundation has filed lawsuits in an attempt to compel the states to meet their own carbon reduction deadlines.
“It’s especially important that the states that have strong emissions reduction mandates speed up the implementation of their climate laws,” he said. “State leadership on these issues is going to be more important than ever.”
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