Prankster stops Col.Falls buses

The Daily Inter Lake

An end-of-the-school year prank knocked out bus service to Columbia Falls schools Friday morning and ended in the arrest of an 18-year-old high-school junior.

Superintendent Michael Nicosia said he received a call at 6:15 a.m. that someone had removed valve stems, flattening front tires on 19 buses.

"We didn't run the bus routes because a lot of the buses had broken seals' on the tires, Nicosia said.

School staffers with help from a local tire store got the buses running in time for the afternoon routes.

"It's not traditional vandalism, but a prank that cost $2,200 is definitely a problem," Nicosia said. "It inconvenienced 1,700 kids or so."

Columbia Falls Police Chief

Dave Perry said the department was informed of the damaged tires at about 7 a.m.

"We put out an announcement at the school and we received two Crimestoppers tips," he said.

The tips implicated 18-year-old Tony Shewalter, a junior at Columbia Falls High School. He was interviewed and charged with felony criminal mischief since the damage exceeded $1,000.

Perry said the charge carries a maximum of penalty of $50,000 and 10 years in jail.

"It was a prank which is not unusual this time of year," he said.

Nicosia didn't have an exact count of the number of students who were kept from attending school Friday because buses were disabled.

"It doesn't look like it had too much of an effect," he said.

According to Nicosia, only a few buses are kept in a garage. In past winters, a few buses have been unplugged, which makes them difficult to start in cold weather.