» TOP STORY ‘He Was Teir Hero’
NATION MOURNS ALABAMA SCHOOL BUS DRIVER CHUCK POLAND, JR., WHO WAS SHOT AND KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY WRITTEN BY RYAN GRAY & SYLVIA ARROYO
£ A memorial photo of Chuck Poland, Jr., is affixed to a tree outside the Midland City Hall in Alabama. Poland was shot and killed on his bus as he attempted to shield 21 students from a gunman.
dents on his bus from a gunman, his family and community praised him as a hero and a man of faith. When Jimmy Lee Dykes trespassed
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on the bus to demand two child hostages, Poland refused. Dykes shot him three times and grabbed a 5-year-old boy, who was held hostage in an underground hostage for six days. Te FBI raided the bunker on Feb. 4 when Dykes was observed through a hidden camera holding a gun. Te town of Midland City — as well as the nation — breathed a collective sigh of relief when the boy, known as Ethan, was rescued and returned to his
18 School Transportation News March 2013
t the memorial service held last month for Charles “Chuck” Poland, Jr., the school bus driver who died Jan. 29 protecting stu-
parents in time to celebrate his sixth birthday. Officials reported he was in good condition. Te Alabama Senate unanimously passed
a resolution Feb. 6 to rename a quarter-mile stretch of Highway 231 near where the incident took place as "Charles 'Chuck' Poland, Jr., Memorial Highway." “While grieving the death of Mr. Charles
Albert Poland, Jr., we are grateful for his precious life, and we offer this resolution in highest tribute to his inspiring legacy of love and faith, as well as in heartfelt sympathy to his family and friends,” the resolution stated. Dale County Schools Superintendent
Donny Bynum called the 66-year-old school bus driver a hero who made “the ultimate sacrifice” to protect the 21 students in his care. “Mr. Poland was well loved by all of us
here at Dale County Schools and has been a bus driver for the school system for four years,” said Bynum. “He was a valuable member of our transportation department, and we will forever remember him for the bravery he showed.” During Poland’s funeral, where more than 1,000 mourners gathered, Bynum spoke of the special relationship the bus driver had with his student riders. “He was their hero. And now Mr. Poland is an angel,” he said. Bynum thanked local, state and federal
agencies for helping to bring the hostage situation to an end and acknowledged the “outpouring of support” from the local com- munity and from across the country. He also read letters from some of the »
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