School bus drivers, shelter adapt to cold-weather needs

Vehicles warmed up early; MUST expands services.

Bus drivers in the Cobb and Marietta school districts were out as early as 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, warming up their buses in sub-15 degree temperatures ahead of a frigid commute.

“Anticipating the challenges associated with low temperatures, our transportation team started their workday at 5 a.m. so they could prepare the buses to safely transport Cobb students to school,” Cobb County School District spokesperson Nan Kiel said.

On social media, parents noted some buses were running late on their routes because of trouble starting the vehicles.

In Marietta City Schools, bus drivers got the engines running early in prepara- tion for taking students to school, said Chuck Gardner, the district’s chief oper- ations officer.

“Thankful for our trans- portation staff who came in early today to crank all buses by 4:30 a.m. to ensure they are warm for our students!” Gardner wrote on Facebook. “These folks embody the

operations core value of world-class service.”

Meanwhile, MUST Minis- tries’ winter weather shel- ter has averaged more than 100 people a night, in addi- tion to the 30-day shelter residents, said MUST Min- istries spokesperson Katy Ruth Camp.

A spokesperson for Cobb County, which has partnered with MUST to provide trans- portation to the shelter, noted the county’s emergency management arm dis- tributed 100 bus vouchers last week and another 150 this week.

On Jan. 15, the shelter

housed 46 men and 15 women, and nine fami- lies were placed in hotels. On Jan. 16, 65 men and 24 women stayed in the shelter, in addition to 13 families being placed in hotels, the county spokesperson said.

Camp added that MUST has partnered with nearby churches to take in the over- flow population of those needing shelter, with the facility at capacity.

The county spokesperson said 15 women were housed at Transfiguration Catho- lic Church on Jan. 15, while another 24 were housed there the next day.

COURTESY MUST MINISTRIES The MUST Ministries winter shelter was at full capacity recently as those in need of a warm place to stay escaped frigid temperatures. The shelter averaged more than 100 people per night.