A number of Westerville drivers competed in this year’s Regional Road-e-o; Gary Case will enter the State contest tomorrow.
Seventeen Westerville City Schools bus drivers competed recently in the Central Ohio Region Road-e-o, held on April 18 at Reynoldsburg Summit High School. More than 100 individuals showed up to take a written exam and test their driving skills. At the end of the day, Westerville’s Gary Case earned top honors, scoring 700 out of 725 possible points. He advances to the State event, which will be held at Licking Heights High School in Pataskala tomorrow. Winners from the State move on to an international competition in July.
Other Westerville drivers excelled at the regional contest as well, including Dee Vandewater, who earned an eighth place finish. In the team competition, Westerville placed third. Team members included drivers Gary Case, Debbie Diller, Steve Smith and John Holmes.
School bus drivers throughout Ohio participate in regional Road-e-o competitions designed to test and increase their operational and safety skills. Participants who score 80 percent or more of the total possible points at a regional or state competition may use that event toward their six-year recertification. The top six drivers at each regional qualify to compete at the state road-e-o.
Westerville drivers Shirley Timberlake, Allan Hunt and Rob Smith served as judges at the regional contest. Westerville City Schools Ohio Region Road-e-o competitors were: Charlotte Denig, John Holmes, Joe Legros, Gary Case, Shelly Smith, Jack Bope, Steve Smith, Rhonda Columbro, Debbie Diller, Cindy Allen-Cruz, Wendy Todys, Joseph Ayyoub, Dee Vandewater, Sherry Berry, Holly Magriplis, Rachael Jones, and Dale Kagy.