Donations mean used bus for FREEFLOW club

Whitefish High School’s FREEFLOW club will be traveling on a newer set of wheels next school year.

The Whitefish School Board recently approved a donation of $8,500 from Richard and Carol Atkinson’s “Older Man Walking” campaign to purchase a used school bus for the club.

The bus replaces the club’s current vehicle, which is 28 years old and has accumulated about 440,000 miles.

The new bus is from 2006 with only 115,000 miles on it.

WHS Principal Kerry Drown said Atkinson worked with teacher Eric Sawtelle and students in the club to determine the need.

“It’s come to a place where that bus is not really road-worthy to take too far from home, so through that program they have generously donated the funds to purchase a bus that is 14 years newer with a quarter of the miles. It’s much more reliable,” Drown said. “I just want to acknowledge [the Atkinsons] and appreciate all of their efforts to help us and help our community in so many different ways.”

Atkinson’s previous Old Man Walking campaign helped raise funs for the Center for Sustainability and Entrepreneurship, which opened next to the high school in April of 2018.