- Corban University’s new cross country and track and field bus. Photo courtesy of Claire Richter
It’d be great if it were always easy to get what you want. But everyone knows it’s not.
Just ask Corban’s cross country and track and field teams. Finding an affordable replacement for the team bus that burned in a dramatic fire last fall has been a drama in itself.
The first team bus, a 1986 Ford, was destroyed by an engine fire on Sept. 30. The cross-country team was pulling onto campus after a practice in Salem, when the engine began to smoke. The fire quickly engulfed the bus and even melted power lines, causing a campus-wide electrical blackout. No one was harmed.
After the dangerous spectacle, head coach Norm Berney and his coaching staff knew they needed a new – and better – bus. Their attempt to locate one that fit their needs and their limited cross-country/track budget proved futile.
Finally Berney decided to expand the search all the way to Los Angeles. On Craigslist, the coaching staff found exactly what they were looking for: an early 2000s 28-passenger bus with low mileage in Huntington Beach, Calif.
Berney immediately called the seller. The Saturday afternoon after the call, Berney went to the bank and acquired all the cash to pay for that bus. The following Monday they flew down to California. The bus was still available, even though someone had made an offer on it already. They arrived to see the van, which the seller was holding for them despite jeopardizing his job, and they bought it on the spot. A day-and-half-drive later, they made it home safely.
The 50-member track and field team has been using the new bus to transport athletes to practices and meets since it arrived in December during Christmas break.
“God had definitely provided a huge answer to our prayers,” said coach Bradley Bates.