OCTOBER 22, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
and cause of their death. The locations
of approximately 50 more student
remains are still unaccounted for.
The two researchers say they hope
the website makes their findings “more
easily accessible, primarily to the rela-
tives of students at Chemawa, but with
the broader public interest in telling
the truth about deaths at the school
also in mind.”
Both Reddick and Guggemos
emphasize that they in no way speak
for tribal communities. They hope
BUSES,
Continued from page A1
100% clean energy for all Oregonians,”
said Maria Pope, president and CEO of
PGE. “Seeing kids of all ages, our future,
traveling to and from school in electric
buses is a moment of pride for all of us
at PGE, and we are excited to partner
with school districts across the state.”
SKPS received their first grant from
PGE in Sept. 2020, but the district
didn't receive the bus until right before
the school year started. Crockett is hop-
ing that the bus from the first grant will
be on the streets later this month – the
second bus won’t be in-service until the
2022-23 school year.
“The electric bus pipeline is not very
big. It takes a bit,” Crockett said. “What
we are getting with this grant now, we
probably won't see for 12 months.”
their data gives the tribes a chance to
know where the children were buried
and for relatives to learn more about
their ancestry.
“We cannot speak under any cir-
cumstances for the people who had
these personal experiences and to
whom there are some serious, agoniz-
ing personal responses to this infor-
mation,” said Reddick. “This is a very
tiny piece of a big puzzle, but our hope
certainly is that we can contribute and
make it easier.”
The buses will be rotated through
different Salem-Keizer school routes so
that the district can get accurate data
on what routes and areas of town the
busses are most efficient and effective.
“Part of what we want to do with this
grant is really collect good data to see
if it makes sense to expand the fleet in
this way,” Crockett said.
Last year, the Salem-Keizer School
Board passed a proposal that gave the
district 195 new buses, as well as a new
transportation facility on Gaffin Rd. in
Salem, which will give SKPS the space
needed to expand their electric bus
fleet if they choose to do so.
“When we get good data there, that's
when we will be able to make good
decisions about how much we move
in that way, because one electric bus a
year under a grant is not going to make
a giant impact,” Crockett said. “Right
now we are gathering data to see what
is the best way for us to go as a district.”