Where was the driver?
"Bullied bus aide says she’s retiring" Associated Press, July 28, 2012
GREECE, N.Y. — A school bus monitor who was shown in a video being relentlessly bullied by a group of boys said Friday she will retire.
Karen Klein, a 68-year-old grandmother, told the Associated Press that the decision to leave the job she held for three years was tough but was not based on her now infamous encounter with the mean-spirited seventh-graders, who tormented her with profanity, insults, and threats during a bus run as the school year wound down in June.
A 10-minute video of the episode went viral and spurred an outpouring of more than $700,000 in donations for Klein from all over the world.
See: Bullies on the Bus
“I’m not quitting because of what happened. That’s not it,” Klein said. “I enjoyed working with the kids. But I guess it’s my time to leave. That’s what I’ve decided.”
Although her mind is made up, she said she has yet to submit the paperwork that would make her retirement official.
She said she will keep busy in her retirement, perhaps volunteering with organizations that help people touched by bullying or suicide.
Klein’s oldest son killed himself 10 years ago, making all the more appalling one of the students’ taunts: “You don’t have a family because they all killed themselves because they don’t want to be near you.”
The cellphone video, posted online, shows Klein trying her best to ignore the abuse.
That's odd because I was always told the only way to stop a bully was by standing up to them -- and it worked. I wasn't bothered after that.
The Greece school district has suspended the four students for a year.
A Toronto man, Max Sidorov, was so moved by Klein’s story that he started an online campaign with the goal of raising $5,000 to send her on a vacation. The fund-raising site Indiegogo listed the total amount raised at $703,833. A spokeswoman for the site said more than 30,000 people contributed, with donations coming in from at least 84 countries and all 50 US states.
--more--"
More bullying in the Big City:
"GRIEF IN BROOKLYN -- Women reacted at the site of a shooting on a street corner in Brooklyn Monday. A wave of stabbings and shootings saw seven killed and at least 21 wounded throughout the city over the weekend (Boston Globe July 10 2012)."
Also see:
3 adults, 2 children killed in SUV accident in N.Y.
Six killed in chain-reaction crash in N.Y. work zone
Bus from Foxwoods casino crashes in New York
That is nothing new.
Boat passenger limit signs sought
South Street Seaport fire in New York City doused
Woman gets 12 years for snatching N.Y. baby in 1987
Lynn man sues over wife’s death in N.Y. jail
In the custody of ICE, 'eh?
‘Yogurt bars’ make debut in NYC
Does it have fat in it?
August Update: N.Y. couple, 85, to remarry 48 years after divorce
