WEST VALLEY'S ROAD WARRIOR BUMPS IN PATH ARE NO OBSTACLE.Byline: SUE DOYLE The teary-eyed teenager climbed aboard the Metro bus and said she wanted to go to the beach to die. Plunking down in a seat, she told seasoned bus operator Julio Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the her woes. How her dad was a jerk. How no one cared about her. How she wanted to disappear forever. As the bus drew closer to the shore, Flores knew he had only a few minutes to try to change the distraught dis·traught adj. 1. Deeply agitated, as from emotional conflict. 2. Mad; insane. [Middle English, alteration of distract, past participle of distracten, girl's mind. "I started giving her encouragement," said Flores. "I told her, 'You have your whole life ahead of you."' The two kept talking and when the bus arrived at the beach, the girl stayed in her seat. In fact, she stayed on the bus until nearly the end of the line. Then she decided to go shopping. For Flores, it was just another day on a job in which he not only steers a 40,000-pound bus around chaotic Los Angeles streets Los Angeles Street is a historic avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Traffic on the street travels northbound only, from the I-10 Freeway in the south of downtown, through the Fashion District, and on through Little Tokyo, where it ends after passing between LAPD but finds himself being an impromptu A Windows query and reporting tool from Cognos with support for a large variety of databases. It is capable of generating cross tabs for spreadsheets such as Excel, Lotus for Windows and Quattro Pro for Windows. teacher, parent, translator, tour guide and psychologist depending on who steps on board. Now he can add another title to that list: Champion. Flores recently won Metro's annual Bus Roadeo -- a regional competition that puts bus drivers' skills to the test in a tricky, seven-minute obstacle course obstacle course n. 1. A training course filled with obstacles, such as ditches and walls, that must be negotiated speedily by troops undergoing training or participants in an obstacle race. 2. in the parking lot of Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
Come May, he heads to Austin, Texas, for the International Bus Roadeo competition and the chance to win $2,500. It's a first for Flores, who has grabbed the highest score in Metro's West Valley Division for eight of the annual event's past 10 years. On Sept. 15, he topped all drivers in the region with his score -- 626 points out of a possible 650. "He goes out there and does a good job every day," said Maria Reynolds Maria Reynolds (born Maria Lewis, 1768 – 18???) is best known as the mistress of Alexander Hamilton and wife of noted con man James Reynolds, and played a central role in one of the first sex scandals in American political history. , Metro transportation manager. "He's a self-starter and has the ability to make a lot of good judgment calls." Driving a bus for 18 years around the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , Flores has learned one truth about other motorists on the road: Expect the unexpected. Always. Motorists peel out of parking lots, drive with no brake lights, don't signal, come to sudden stops in front of moving buses and open car doors within millimeters of passing buses all day long, Flores said. "You have to anticipate their next move," Flores said. "You may be driving the same route, but it's never the same situation." sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3746 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Julio Flores, Metro bus driver from the West Valley Division, is winner of the 33rd annual Bus Roadeo and will head to Austin, Texas, in May for the international competition. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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