Sheriff Reminds Drivers To Stop For School Buses
Public Meeting At Shakertown Fire Department On Sept. 9
Buses sitting at Ladue Middle School in Ladue, Missouri. Image: Iipilot45 via Wikimedia Commons.
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
rmoore@harrodsburgherald.com
Sheriff Ernie Kelty has some advice for drivers when they come upon a school bus picking up or dropping off students: drive like those students are your children.
Kelty said his office has received numerous complaints about people passing buses.
“It’s more complaints this year than I’ve ever seen,” Kelty said.
While the complaints are coming from all over the county, the sheriff said they’re receiving the most complaints about Main Street in Burgin near the railroad tracks and about Northbound U.S. 127 between Talmage Mayo and Providence Road in McAfee.
“We are watching those areas both in the mornings and in the afternoon,” Kelty said.
One of the main drivers of complaints seems to be confusion about when and where a motorists have to stop, the sheriff said. On a four lane highway, the law says vehicles traveling in the same direction as a school bus have to stop when the bus puts its stop sign out, he said. Motorists do not have to stop if the bus is on the opposite side of the median and going in a different direction.
On a two lane road, motorists in either lane have to stop when the bus does, Kelty said. Under state law, drivers who pass a stopped school bus could face up to a $200 fine and or 60 days in jail.
“It’s a very serious offense and we don’t want to see anybody get hurt,” Kelty said.
Town Hall Meetings
The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office will hold four town hall meetings in September, with the first scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 9, at the Shakertown Fire Department.
Attendees will receive information on subjects including: crimes being committed in their areas; surviving active shooter situations; forming neighborhood watch groups; terrorism prevention; disaster preparation, including preparing emergency kits, CPR, First Aid and the Heimlich maneuver; Stop the Bleed; community lighting and security checklists; personal property identification; home security checklist; firearms responsibility in the home including the new carrying concealed deadly weapons law in Kentucky without a license; the importance of obtaining detailed vehicle and suspect descriptions; what to do if stopped by law enforcement; identity theft; senior scams; cybersecurity and sextortion; drug abuse; human trafficking and the registered sex offender compliance program.
Meeting times and locations:
• Thursday, Sept. 9, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Shakertown Fire Department (3318 Shakertown Road).
• Monday, Sept. 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Mercer Central Fire Department (200 Morris Drive).
• Tuesday, Sept. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Dixville Fire Department (2470 New Dixville Road).
• Monday, Sept. 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Salvisa Fire Department (164 Sugar Street, Salvisa).
The sheriff’s office holds meeting in cooperation with Mercer County Crime Stoppers, County Fire Chiefs, Hometown Radio and the Harrodsburg Herald.
For more information, call 859-734-4221 or visit the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office (207 West Lexington Street).
