Police: Registered sex offender driving school bus with suspended license

Arnette Harrington, 57, was pulled over by Gulfport police Monday morning after officers noticed an illegal license plate attached to the van, police said. The vehicle was carrying 14 children to Gulfport-area schools, Bay News 9 reports.

“Fourteen kids in the van. Certainly not made to hold fourteen people, that’s for sure” Gulfport Police Chief Robert Vincent told Fox 13. “He could be cited for child restraint violations because they’re supposed to be restrained in a designated seat, the young ones of course. The 2-year-old in there was supposed to be in a child’s seat.”

The ages of the children in the 12-seat van ranged from 2 to 12, the Tampa Bay Times said, adding that it stopped at four schools. Police said “there were no legal restrictions prohibiting” Harrington from transporting the kids, according to the story.

However, his driver’s license was revoked nearly 10 years ago after a drug conviction, the Times story says. Police said they were trying to determine how long he had been driving the van, according to the Times. The company that owns the van is not registered with the state Division of Corporations.

Vincent told Fox 13 that there’s no law that prevents sex offenders like Harrington from being near children. “That only applies to ones that are still supervised by the court” he said. “It’s kind of unfortunate, but nothing says he can’t do it.”

Police said Harrington was tasked with picking up and dropping off children at their homes. Pinellas County School District spokeswoman Lisa Wolf told the Times that “the district would not screen drivers that are providing a service that is outside of the scope of the school day.” She added that “private drivers like Harrington do not enter school buildings but travel through pick-up circles outside.”

On Tuesday, the Times reported that Harrington pleaded no contest in 1989 to attempted sexual battery of a 13-year-old girl he lived with in St. Petersburg. He was sentenced to five years’ probation, the story says.

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Driving instructor accused of leaving Millinocket accident

MILLINOCKET, Maine — A driver’s education instructor cited for leaving the scene of an accident last week might also face the loss of his instructor’s permit, officials said Wednesday.

The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles is investigating whether Harry Epp, owner of Katahdin Driving Academy, should face a BMV penalty atop the summons Millinocket police issued him on Sept. 30, said Kristen Muszynski, spokeswoman for Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, who oversees the bureau.

“We have to sit down and talk about it and see where we go,” Muszynski said Wednesday.

Epp, 76, of Lincoln was issued a summons for leaving the scene of a property damage accident, police said.

Epp was instructing a student driver in his school’s 2006 Dodge sedan when the student turned in to the McDonald’s restaurant parking lot off Route 11 and ran into the building at about 2:55 p.m., according to the accident report filed by Officer Shawn J. Smith. Several concrete blocks were damaged.

The 15-year-old student told Smith that she accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. She and Epp inspected the vehicle, went inside for hot chocolate and then left. She said that Epp told her that “it was all right and not to say anything about the accident,” Smith’s report states.

The accident was reported to police by an unidentified caller. Police in East Millinocket subsequently located Epp who allegedly told them he was in the car when the accident happened and that he would return to Millinocket to meet with Smith.

After returning to the Millinocket McDonald’s, Epp allegedly told the officer that when he inspected the scene right after the accident he did not see damage to the building, only a bent front license plate. Smith then showed Epp a video picture from the restaurant’s surveillance video showing the car over the curb about a foot from the building.

“I don’t remember hitting the building,” Epp said, according to Smith’s report.

Smith showed Epp the damage to the building and issued him the summons, according to the report.

Police Chief Steve Kenyon said he alerted the bureau on Tuesday out of common-sense concern. He wasn’t sure whether additional state action was necessary.

“I don’t want to take away from all the good he has done all these years,” Kenyon said, “but if I were a parent, I would be concerned.”

Attempts to contact Epp were unsuccessful on Wednesday.

Several people who said their children were enrolled in Epp’s driving school contacted the bureau for assurances that their children could graduate the school on-time if Epp faced additional bureau action, Muszynski said.

Kenyon, Muszynski and Maine Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association President Anthony Vine said they could not recall a driver’s ed instructor ever being cited for leaving the scene of an accident.

The state has on occasion suspended schools for failing to follow state regulations, Dunlap said. Penalties generally range from ordered remedial education to suspension of licenses.

According to state law, the secretary of state “may suspend, revoke or refuse to issue or renew a driver education school or instructor license for noncompliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.”

The secretary may also “investigate complaints as deemed appropriate,” according to the statute. Anyone “refused a license or whose license is suspended or revoked may request a hearing.”

Epp has had a clean driving and instructional record since he became a licensed driver’s education instructor in 1999. According to state records, his Maine driving history goes back to 1982, Muszynski said.

Epp has been a member of the association in good standing for many years, Vine said.

“I have dealt with Mr. Epp on many occasions, and he has been very professional. He takes the profession very seriously,” Vine said.

Epp is due in Millinocket District Court on Nov. 4, police said.

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Distracted driving lesson hits home for students

SARASOTA COUNTY - As Meredith Sauceda watched herself die in a texting-and-driving accident, she could not stop thinking about the times she had used her phone to play music while driving.

The 17-year-old senior did not actually die, of course, but experienced what it could look like through a virtual reality simulator brought to Sarasota High School Tuesday by AT&T.

She heard a father and child yell at her as her character in the virtual reality swerved when she looked down at a text message. She saw the car swerve to avoid one wreck, and then suddenly break within inches of another.

“Almost there,” the virtual character began to text before the car was t-boned. Broken glass filled the screen until the camera lifted upward, enabling Sauceda to view the deadly scene below.

“It shows you how quickly something can happen,” she said after the experience. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”

About 700 juniors and seniors at Sarasota High heard about and experienced the dangers of using their cell phones while driving.

Although only some could use the headphone and goggles with the virtual simulator, each student took home a cardboard box that recreated the experience with a special smartphone app.

Karen McAllister, a local spokeswoman for AT&T, said showing students the consequences of distracted driving while they’re learning driving habits is critical.

“We want them to develop good driving habits before they become accustomed to driving with their smart phones by their sides,” McAllister said. “It allows them to imagine a distracted driving situation, realize they are part of the problem and show them how quickly something can happen.”

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Driver's education registration may open today for Guilford County Schools

GREENSBORO — Teens in Guilford County may get to register for driver’s education classes late this afternoon and not worry about paying a fee.
Schedules of staggered registration times may go online this morning, said Leigh Hebbard, who oversees driver’s education for the school system. The idea is to try to avoid overloading the website when registration reopens.
The exact times were not available Thursday night.
What is clear is Guilford County Schools will no longer charge a $65 fee for the classes.
The Guilford County Board of Education voted Thursday night to waive the fee, which it began charging families this summer amid uncertainty about whether state legislators would continue funding driver’s education. The board also agreed to a revised contract with the North Carolina Driving School.
Those who have already paid the fee could seek a refund through the driving school, Hebbard said. The driving school would then charge the school system for reimbursement, he said.
The program was suspended this summer when state funding ran out and state budget negotiations dragged on.
The General Assembly agreed on a budget last week and Gov. Pat McCrory signed it into law.
In the meantime, families waited anxiously for the classes to resume.
“These people have been checking the website all week long to try and register,” Hebbard said.
Priority for registration would likely go to those 15 or older, he said.
The driver’s education classes typically include about 50 students each. When registration restarts, 75 students may be allowed to sign up for each class but those who would not be 15 years old by the first day of classes would be weeded out and possibly put on a waiting list, he said.
Achievement, discipline disparities still a worry
In recent weeks, school board members and the broader community have discussed racial achievement gaps and disparities in student discipline. The conversation continued Thursday night when dozens of parents and some students packed into the school board meeting room.
Some parents have also repeatedly complained about the school system’s Exceptional Children Department, which serves students with disabilities.
The department is under a three-year improvement plan. Even with that, parents have repeatedly spoken out at board meetings about poor communication and school officials not adhering to the required individualized education plans for students, among other things.
Dozens of people in a group called Black Minds Matter protested over some of those issues outside of the school system’s central office before the meeting began.
According to school system data, black students have some of the lowest achievement rates as measured by standardized tests but have disproportionately high discipline rates.
Several of the parents who have complained to the board before said they still have gotten no response, no answers.
“We still do not have resolutions,” parent and advocate Lissa Harris, who is also co-founder of the organization Parents Sa upporting Parents, told the school board Thursday night. “We’re looking for you to dig deeper.”
“At the end of the day, we must stop looking at the numbers as if it’s just another year,” Harris said about the academic and discipline disparities.
One parent, Phyllis Goins, asked, “Are any of you listening to what we are saying?”
She described the Exceptional Children Department as “corrupt” and “incompetent” before asking when leaders will hold the department accountable.
“Our black children deserve to be educated, and one of these days you are going to be held accountable,” Goins told the board.

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NIGHTMARE FIRST DRIVING LESSON SEES GIRL CRASH INTO FURNITURE STORE

One girl might be too scared to ever get behind the wheel again after her first driving lesson ended with her crashing into a furniture store in Oosterhout on Sunday morning.

The accident happened around 10:50 a.m. on Sunday, Omroep Brabant reports.

The girl was behind the wheel and her father was sitting next to her. No one was injured, but a large amount of damage was done to the Jysk store on Meerstoel.

The girl and her father were checked over by an ambulance crew.

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