REGION — Mechanic Zach Hartzell doesn’t think he’s the story. “It’s a lot of attention for showing up and doing our jobs,” he says.

“You ought to do a story on Bubba – Brenda Blaisdell,” he says. “She’s been driving for SADD-44 since 1975.” Zach, of South Paris, and his brother Sam, of Bryant Pond, also a mechanic, both now with kids of their own, say Bubba has been around so long, their own mother – who grew up in Albany – used to ride her bus. “Back then, you didn’t even need a Commercial Driver’s License to drive a bus,” Zach says.

These days, with SADD-44’s transportation responsibilities shifted to the private company RideSource, and the recent resignation of the SADD-44 Transportation Director, fewer drivers are available. As a result, mechanics – and even transportation directors – are stepping in behind the wheel.

Zach has driven 17 routes across a few districts and says he knows every one.

“I know where all the routes are, where they overlap, who’s driving what,” he said. “I’ve driven every route in this district except the special needs one.” Sam, who doesn’t have a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), helps with smaller shuttle runs. They explain that busses (versus vans) are necessary because a bus can stop traffic with stop signs and overhead lights. Liability and safety prohibits vans or busses from turning around in snowy or muddy driveways.  A  CDL is required with a school bus endorsement for any bus that has overhead lights and stop signs. A CDL with a passenger endorsement is necessary for any bus over 14 passengers, even without lights and signs.

Despite his growing role in the transportation system, Hartzell isn’t eager for the spotlight. He and his brother, Sam, say their job is simple – though repairing the buses themselves are not.

“Buses are the worst,” Zach says. “Everything is big and heavy, like a truck, but you can’t get to anything. The engines are crammed in under the windshield. Parts are tucked up under the side skirts. You can’t pull the brake cams without taking the whole hub off.”

In the fall of 2024, Zach began prepping the district’s buses for the annual state police inspection in Bethel after longtime Transportation Director Jim Whitman retired.

At an April 14 school board meeting, SADD-44 Superintendent Mark Kenney credited Hartzell’s work with preventing an inspection failure.

“We got very lucky contracting with RideSource and taking on their mechanic Zach, who not only is a mechanic but has been driving many of our routes,” Kenney said. “When we had our state inspection in October, we had to take three buses off the road. Since then, he’s worked all year to make sure that doesn’t happen again. As our former student, it’s a proud moment – his own kids are on the buses he maintains.”

 “We want these buses in good shape, not just because our kids are on them – because everyone’s kids are,” Sam said as he and Zach replaced leaf spring bushings on a front axle inside the bus garage on Main Street in Bethel.

Sam’s children attend Woodstock Elementary and Telstar High School – schools he and Zach once attended. Zach’s son, is a seventh grader at Oxford Hills Middle School.

Despite the responsibilities, Zach downplays his contributions. “Our whole job is based on ‘righty-tighty, lefty-loosey.’ Nothing complicated going on there.”

Asked where their mechanical aptitude comes from, Zach credits their father, currently a RideSource driver with a degree in automotive technology and a background as a Service Writer in a garage. One of their nine siblings is brother Mykel, is a CDL instructor at Region 9.

Still, both brothers insist the real story is Bubba who shows up at 4:30 a.m. after winter snow storms to start up all the slow-to-warm-up diesel busses.

“Bubba’s more worth your time then we are. You definitely have to do a story on Bubba.

“You can tell her we threw her under the bus,” says Zach.