Philadelphia Daily News from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 22

IIMMXIItlMMIHMKIMItMtlttltK Page 22 PHILADELPHIA DAILY VlEWS i VliursSay, dct. 22, 1987 I CITY REGION Economy, Safety Cited for School IBus IDriver Shortage advertising all over for drivers, and this weekend, we're even doing training for the second weekend," he said. Spector said the district, which now has 13 vacancies out of 433 driver positions, is having problems getting road test appointments at the State Police barracks for drivers who have completed training apparently because there are not enough examiners. Laidlaw reported a shortage of 46 drivers last month. Yesterday, Nilan said the company was down 16.

But Jack Gaul, head of the School District's transportation department, said he does want to promise to restore bus service until the private" bus companies not only find enough drivers to handle their routes but also' acquire a reserve of 20 to 25 substitutes to cover absenteeism. Gaul said the district now operates 388 bus routes and has 420 drivers. About eight private companies handle 70 percent of 1,115 routes. The district did anticipate it would need extra drivers of its own last spring after the school board canceled a contract with Carol Lines Gaul said. Carol Lines was the company with the unqualified driver involved in the accident last June 8 in which about 45 Northeast High students and teachers were hurt.

The district took over the 65 routes from Carol Lines and, for the first lime, conducted recruiting and driver training over the summer to build up its reserve of drivers. Laidlaw Transit "I'd have some professors here driving." But district sources have said that part of the shortage can be attributed to more stringent checks on the validity of drivers' licenses and other qualifications. After a school bus accident last June in which it was discovered the driver was not properly licensed, the district pressured state officials to improve the way it notifies school districts when bus drivers' licenses have been or will be suspended. The district has suspended bus service for 46 routes affecting 14 schools. Students have been given free SEPTA tokens to get to school on their own, or parents have been driving their children back and forth.

Mark Spector, executive director for finances for the School District, insisted yesterday that the district is 1 doing all it can to solve the crisis. "We have increased our training; school will be restored. "I'm not happy about itr and he" IChristopherl is not happy," Carol Bonsted, Christopher's mother, said yesterday. She said taking SEPTA has added about 90 minutes to Chris' commuting time each day. "People will have to wait it out, Bonsted said.

"But I'm beginning to think that they (school officials aren't doing anything about it." On Sept. 11, the second day of the new school year. School District officials learned that three bus nies were suddenly hit with major shortages of drivers. The companies, which were short 70 drivers, said many drivers quit after the first day of school, some lured away to better jobs with suburban bus companies. In addition, some bus company officials say they blame a good economy for the shortage.

"If we had a recession, I'd have drivers," said Mi-, chael Nilan, division manager for By VALERIA M. RUSS Daily News Staff Writer It is still dark when Christopher Bonsted leaves home in Olney every morning to catch a bus for the first leg of his trip to Lankenau-Saul Motivation High School in Roxborough. At 6:20 a.m., Christopher, 16, takes SEPTA'S bus to Ridge Avenue and Main Street, where the 27 bus picks him up for the next part of his trip. Bonsted must take public transportation no school buses are However, even SEPTA doesn't have service to carry Bonsted and other students all the way to Lankenau-Saul, so the School District has established shuttle service to complete the trip to Spring Lane. Welcome to Week Six of the Great School Bus Driver Shortage of 1987.

And yesterday. School District officials said they cannot say for sure when the bus routes that were temporarily suspended the first week of Bruno Nephew Gets 2 Months 3 INVENTORY CLEARANCE hour statements on behalf of USRA Construction Management of 17th and Arch streets, which Grasso controlled even though he was not an officer or shareholder. According to the charges, Grasso and the company underreported the overtime and weekend hours carpenters worked. The 1980 Pennsylvania Crime Commission Report said Grasso was called the "Boy Financier" of the Bruno family. It described him as a "major influence and adviser to members and associates of the Bruno organization." Grasso, the report said, was convicted of fraud in 1972 and 1977.

By TONI LOCY Daily News Staff Writer Michael Grasso, nephew of the late mob boss Angelo Bruno, was sentenced yesterday to two months in jail after pleading guilty to shortchanging a carpenter's union welfare fund by nearly $9,000. U.S. District Judge Louis H. Pollak also imposed a five-year probation term and a $5,000 fine on Grasso, who admitted to the charges as part of a plea agreement. David S.

Fritchey, attorney for the U.S. Organized Crime Strike Force, said Grasso has already repaid the welfare fund the $8,930 in question. Grasso's lawyer, Nicholas J. Nas-tasi, asked Pollak to sentence Grasso immediately after the guilty plea, waiving preparation of a pre-sentence report by probation officials. Gra6so, 51, of Wynnewood, Montgomery County, was charged last.Frw day with false wage and ON ALL RECONDITIONED AND SISPLAY MODELS! MQURBl DAILY NEWS 563-5000 FAMOUS NAME BRANDS STARTING AT $150oo FORMERLY LEASED MODELS SOME WITH REMOTE SOME WITH STEREO SOUNF MODEL MAY DIFFER Miyi.VflrtlMiR'iijJHI FROM fCR FAMOUS NAME BRAND WIRELESS REMOTE STEEL SECURITY UN STORM DOOR SAVE fl STARTING AT $169 PROJECTION TV's ALSO AVAILABLE CALL FOR OUR FREE BROCHURE FREE SHOP AT HOME SERVICE 12 ELEGANT STYLES TO CHOOSE FROM ALSO CUSTOM DESIGNED TO YOUR SPECIFICATION FACTORY INSTALLATION AVAIALBLE 843-2600 CHERRY HILL 308 Haddonfield Rd.

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