Presidio County School Districts Work To Keep Drugs Off Buses
By: Dylan Brooks
Updated: December 3, 2012
MARFA -- School districts in Presidio County are taking proactive steps to keep their students safe on trips out of town, after nearly 500 pounds of marijuana was found in the cargo hold of a Van Horn High School bus during a trip through the county.
A bus driver found a hefty amount of marijuana in some black duffel bags that were stowed in the cargo area of a Culberson County-Allamoore I.S.D. bus on November 19th.
The bus was taking basketball players home to Van Horn from a game in Presidio when the driver found the drugs during a stop at a Stripes Convenience Store in Marfa.
The driver shared the discovery with a Border Patrol agent (who was filling up his patrol vehicle nearby).
The Border Patrol agent called Drug Enforcement Agency agents and Presidio County Sheriff's deputies soon rushed to the scene.
The bus was allowed to return to Van Horn -- with a police escort from Presidio and Culberson County Sheriff's deputies.
Coaches on the bus claim they don't know where the duffel bags came from.
The bus reportedly wasn't stopped and searched at the U.S. 67 checkpoint because of a longstanding Border Patrol policy -- where agents let school buses through checkpoints.
No one has been arrested for the incident, and the D.E.A. continues to investigate the incident.
In the wake of the incident, Culberson County - Allamoore I.S.D. undertook several measures to enhance security on its buses.
Now, Marfa I.S.D. is also taking extra steps to ensure their students are safe when they take school-sanctioned trips out of town.
According to The Big Bend Sentinel, Marfa high school principal Cynthia Wimberly traveled with the Marfa basketball team to a road game in Presidio on November 27th.
Wimberly reportedly followed the team's bus closely in a car, and she called the Presidio County Sheriff's Office for additional support.
Meanwhile, Presidio I.S.D. has continued their policy of stopping all school buses at the city limits and running a drug-sniffing dog through them.
A bus driver found a hefty amount of marijuana in some black duffel bags that were stowed in the cargo area of a Culberson County-Allamoore I.S.D. bus on November 19th.
The bus was taking basketball players home to Van Horn from a game in Presidio when the driver found the drugs during a stop at a Stripes Convenience Store in Marfa.
The driver shared the discovery with a Border Patrol agent (who was filling up his patrol vehicle nearby).
The Border Patrol agent called Drug Enforcement Agency agents and Presidio County Sheriff's deputies soon rushed to the scene.
The bus was allowed to return to Van Horn -- with a police escort from Presidio and Culberson County Sheriff's deputies.
Coaches on the bus claim they don't know where the duffel bags came from.
The bus reportedly wasn't stopped and searched at the U.S. 67 checkpoint because of a longstanding Border Patrol policy -- where agents let school buses through checkpoints.
No one has been arrested for the incident, and the D.E.A. continues to investigate the incident.
In the wake of the incident, Culberson County - Allamoore I.S.D. undertook several measures to enhance security on its buses.
Now, Marfa I.S.D. is also taking extra steps to ensure their students are safe when they take school-sanctioned trips out of town.
According to The Big Bend Sentinel, Marfa high school principal Cynthia Wimberly traveled with the Marfa basketball team to a road game in Presidio on November 27th.
Wimberly reportedly followed the team's bus closely in a car, and she called the Presidio County Sheriff's Office for additional support.
Meanwhile, Presidio I.S.D. has continued their policy of stopping all school buses at the city limits and running a drug-sniffing dog through them.
