PLATTSBURGH — The North Country Honor Flight will have safe bus transportation for its veterans this season thanks to students at CV-TEC in Plattsburgh.
Young professionals from CV-TEC’s Heavy Equipment and Diesel Mechanics, Automotive Technology, and Automotive Collision programs partnered with the Honor Flight to put their technical skills to work and fix up the organization’s bus this winter.
New York State Police Trooper James Dambro put the wheels in motion when it was determined the Honor Flight’s bus needed maintenance.
The students were tasked with repairing the current bus, ensuring it is safe, reliable and ready to transport veterans throughout the upcoming season as they travel to and from Plattsburgh International Airport for their flights down to Washington, D.C., to see their war memorials this year.
However, after the students conducted an inspection of the bus, it was determined it needed mandatory repairs to become road worthy again, and the Honor Flight didn’t have the funds to purchase the necessary parts.
That’s when Tanner Baraby, of Moore Recycling, stepped in and paid for all of the parts needed.
North Country Honor Flight Executive Director Barrie Finnegan said the region is an incredible place to live because of the people always willing to help.
“Thank you to everybody involved,” Finnegan said Friday at an event celebrating the students who helped fix the bus. “This is just a win-win situation for everybody.”
“To know that this is safe going down the road, that’s important to us,” he told the media after.
Logan Hart, a CV-TEC student who worked on the bus, said it was an honor to do so.
“The process was a little difficult, but it was very fun. It was fun knowing that you get to do it for the people who served. And serving for the people who served your country is an honor because they put their life at risk just so you can live your life risk-free,” Hart said.
“And it’s just great knowing that you can do that and just being a part of this is something that many people don’t get to do, and it’s great building your relationships with other people.”
The students will continue performing preventive maintenance on the bus, including regular oil changes.
In addition to recognizing the efforts of these young professionals, Friday’s event celebrated the donation of a new bus to the Honor Flight, which will support future missions and expand the organization’s ability to serve veterans across the region.
The bus was donated by the Saranac Central School District. It’s a 2017 model and is 14 years newer than the Honor Flight’s current bus.
Finnegan said the plan is to use both once the donated bus receives light maintenance and cosmetic work.
He said the new bus won’t be a carbon copy of the current one, which stands out with its silver paint and bright yellow stickers that list the name of each veteran who flew on an Honor Flight, but the plan is to have it similarly stand out as it’s driving down the road.
That bus will also be worked on by CV-TEC students but likely won’t be ready for use until next year. Finnegan said they’re still raising money to fund that work.
He clarified the money raised for the bus repairs is separate from the funds that send veterans on the Honor Flights.
“We can’t take money out of Honor Flight to do that. We always established a second fund,” he said.
“We got some guys with the American Legion that are doing some great work. They’re going to contact every American Legion and every VFW to try to generate funds to make sure we have enough to cover that bus.
“Everybody would like to know, of course, how much (we need). We don’t know. We’re gonna try to estimate as best as possible, but I don’t know. It’s gonna be a tough thing to come up with.”
To donate to the bus repairs and future preventive work, visit northcountryhonorflight.org and write “buses” in the line asking what the donation is for.
“That would help us out immensely,” Finnegan said.