CORBETT, OR (KPTV) -
The Corbett School District went back to an old bus route at a local school, after some in the community objected to a new route that sent buses through a veterans' memorial.
When school started Monday at Corbett Grade School, some of the buses were driving directly over brick pavers that some protesters said were part of the memorial.
"Monday afternoon, my niece came home from school and told me they were driving buses through the plaza. I went through the roof," said Larry McDougall, one of the original planners of the Jeff Lucas Veterans Memorial.
The memorial was built to honor Jeff Lucas, a 1989 graduate of Corbett High School, who was killed in Afghanistan, as well as other veterans.
Many of the their names are written on brick pavers; the buses were passing on an area where there are no names, but protesters said these pavers are still part of the memorial.
"For them to drive across it, it would be like somebody going to Arlington, Willamette National Cemetery and playing golf, because the grasses are nice," McDougall said.
Tuesday morning, a small group protested the new bus route at the school.
The new route sent buses to the back of the school, the Corbett School District said the move would help kids avoid high-vehicle traffic in the front of the building during the busiest times of the day.
McDougall said the road in front of the memorial was only intended for emergency and service vehicles.
After the concerns were raised, the school superintendent said the buses reverted to the old route and said the district plans to work with a contractor on some long-term options.
That meeting could happen as early as tomorrow.
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