Two weeks ago, Fonda-Fultonville Central School District (FFCSD) employee and mother Dominique Boomhower endured her "worst nightmare" as her 6 year old son Cameron was left unsupervised after falling asleep on the school bus. Once he woke up, he walked to school all alone in the cold. The bus driver failed to check the vehicle for remaining children once they stopped, leaving promptly after parking (CBS 6 Albany). The worst part? Cameron was sitting directly behind the driver's seat, so the whole ordeal could have been prevented if the bus driver had just turned around.

Joshua Hoehne via Unsplash

Fortunately, CBS 6 Albany reports that an employee saw the child walking into school and helped get him to class safely. However, Cameron didn't reveal the specifics of what had happened to him, just that he was walking to school and was going to be late to class. Because of this, Dominique didn't find out until hours later as school officials weren't initially aware of the situation.

They need to have better communication. They need to step up their game because this is, like I said, everybody’s worst nightmare to happen to their child and the school needs to do a better job at keeping track of their kids. -Dominique Boomhower (CBS 6 Albany)

CDC via Unsplash

In a statement to CBS 6 Albany, FFCSD states that once administration was made aware of the incident, an investigation took place and the district contacted Cameron's parent. The investigation revealed that the bus driver, an employee of Student Transportation of America (STA), didn't follow the proper safety protocols. As a result, the driver will not be transporting the district's students any longer.

Student safety is a top priority, and we take this incident seriously. We have reviewed all procedures and policies put in place to ensure the health and safety of our students, and we will continue to do so to ensure that an incident such as this cannot occur ever again. -Fonda-Fultonville Central School District (CBS 6 Albany)

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Echoing the statements of the school district, Student Transportation of America comments, saying the driver did not follow mandatory protocols and has since been terminated (CBS 6 Albany).

We are committed to providing Fonda-Fultonville Central School District students with safe transportation services and will continue our focus on advancing our safety and training protocols, to ensure that they meet and surpass industry standards. -Student Transportation of America (CBS 6 Albany)

It's fortunate that the situation didn't end worse than it did and Cameron is safe and sound. You can watch CBS 6 Albany's coverage of the incident here:

CBS 6 Albany: Crisis in the Classroom

Skoolie Bus Conversion

This is "Ruth" a 2010 Skoolie bus that has been converted into your next home on wheels. This treasure is currently available for $26,000 in the Capital Region via Clifton Park Online Garage Sale on Facebook. Let's take a look at her!

Explore the Abandoned Middle School at Albany's Kenwood Convent

This abandoned property is part of the Kenwood Convent complex in Albany. If it's the same story as the rest of the property, it's been vacant since 2009. There have been some ownership changes and it appears there is still power in parts of the building. As with the convent, it also looks like work was being done by construction crews to clean out and/or restore the building, but that has since stopped (as of the 2020 date of these photos).

The Albany Business Review says the county was about to hold an auction for the property, but its current owners filed bankruptcy two days prior - putting a hold on any further development or sale of the site.

As we can see from the photo tour, there is some magnificent architecture, window frames, even old murals on the wall depicting the a journey down the Hudson River from the City of Albany to New York City.

The most recent relics are some tools, ladders and construction equipment left at the scene, but there are some other pretty cool finds including an early flat screen TV, some antique door & window frames and a pool table in near perfect condition.

Remarkably, this is one of those abandoned places that has gone relatively untouched by vandals and graffiti artists. Let's hope it stays that way until a new use for the property can be determined. For now, it sits in legal limbo waiting to be renovated and rehabbed. Enjoy the tour!