Landis named best school bus mechanic

Carl Landis, lead mechanic for Rogers Public Schools' Transportation Department, earned first place in the Arkansas' bus troubleshooting competition and ninth best in North America. He is from Pea Ridge.

The Rogers transportation department is the largest mass-transit organization between Little Rock and Tulsa. Rogers School District covers 256 square miles with 102 buses and over 100 drivers to transport 12,000 students. He has attended the Arkansas Bus Mechanic's Association training sessions for 22 years. This year, he earned first place in Arkansas' bus troubleshooting competition. This qualified him to advance to the North American Best Technical Inspection Competition in Kansas City.

The Arkansas Bus Mechanic's Association is a continuing education and testing program. Among other things, various manufacturers bring mechanics up to date on troubleshooting and repair, especially in the always changing engine and chassis management computer systems and exhaust gas regenerative systems. In the competency tests, three years ago Carl placed third, two years ago he took second place, and in 2016, he won first place which earned him a spot in the North American Best Technical Inspection Competition. There Carl placed second on the overall written exam, second in the Syntec Station, sixth in the Wheel Ends test, and seventh place in the Thomas and Delco Test Stations. Overall, he is the ninth best bus mechanic in North America.

Landis is a native of Omaha, Neb., where his granddad drove a school bus for Keystone Bus Line, and his dad was a mechanic for Keystone. He moved to Pea Ridge in 1977 with his parents Donald and Eula Landis. He married Cindy David and worked in industrial maintenance for several local companies. He began working for the Pea Ridge School Transportation Department in 1994 and worked his way up to transportation director. After 12 years with Pea Ridge Schools, he went to work for Rogers' Transportation Department.

In the Rogers bus shop, Landis works with Clayton Shook and Steve Jordan who are skilled mechanics but new to school buses.

Jordan said, "Carl is not only a great mechanic, but a good person; Clayton and I would be lost without Carl to pull us out of tight spots. Carl is our safety net, if we cannot figure something out you just, 'Ask Carl!'

"It makes us all proud of what he has accomplished," Jordan said, "and his success is reflected in all of us. Carl's and our goal is to provide the safest buses to transport our children to and from school. I hope that is a comfort to all the parents knowing there are those behind the scene looking out for their precious cargo."

Don Sutterfield, operations manager for Rogers school transportation department said, "Carl is always willing to go the extra mile to keep our busses on the road. Every day he is here early and willing to fix anything that time will let him. I have seen a bus come in on a wrecker in the A.M. with a transmission out and Carl would have it back on the route in the afternoon. His ability to tell what is wrong with a bus over the radio is spot on most of the time."

Like the other mechanics and even office staff, Landis is willing to drive a bus route when needed. He even helps transform the shop bays into a decorated dining area for the transportation department Christmas dinner. Off the job, he enjoys hunting, fishing, camping and time with family.

Community on 11/30/2016