Results on St. Ignatius bus, office received

The office of a bus garage in St. Ignatius will need cleaned following the release of test results last week, after the owner of J.C. Bussing Inc. was arrested on drug charges last month.

On Thursday, June 7, St. Ignatius Schools Superintendent Jason Sargent released a statement sharing that the results from the tested bus and room at the garage were received.

On May 24, Scott Johnson, 54, of St. Ignatius, was arrested on a charge of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

J.C. Bussing, Inc. owns the buses the school district uses for transportation. Johnson sometimes filled in for bus drivers on the bus that tested positive for meth residue.

The bus that tested positive for methamphetamine residue registered at below a .5 index and will only need to be cleaned, Sargent explained.

Sargent said that the reading came back below the threshold of a mandated cleaning, but more than likely, all the buses will be cleaned over the summer.

Sargent said he feels the result is more of a “negative result,” and that officials aren’t worried about the fleet of buses because the residue could be from instances throughout the years.

“At this time we are working with the bus corporation to assure that this clean up happens thoroughly and with complete confidence that it is safe to work on buses that will be providing transportation for our students,” Sargent stated.

The bus in question was not in use prior to the testing, Sargent previously told The Leader.

The company administering the tests is Water Rights, Inc. of Missoula.

Lee Yelin, owner of Water Rights, Inc., said that school officials wanted to see if meth residue was present, to see what options for cleaning are.

In addition to the bus Johnson used, one other bus was chosen at random, which tested negative for methamphetamine residue, Yelin said.

There are two types of testing that Water Rights, Inc. utilizes, Yelin said.

An instant test that is used is similar to drug testing on people, which is instantaneous, was first completed by swabbing a 100 centimeter square area of the suspected area.

Once the swab specimen is collected, it is put into a solution and then put onto a test strip.

“If it comes back ‘hot,’ it is positive for meth,” Yelin said, although that doesn’t mean there aren’t other drugs present.

The instant test only identifies methamphetamine residue.

The second test, Yelin explained, is a sample is collected within that same 100 centimeter square area and sent to a lab.

Results take approximately five days, but levels of contamination are given, which helps Yelin identify if and how the area can be cleaned.

Yelin confirmed that the two positive tests he got were from instant tests done in Johnson’s office and the bus he drove.

Yelin said he received a call from Sargent, who asked that Yelin administer the tests.

Johnson’s office was immediately tested, he added.

Methamphetamine residue is similar to how cigarette smoke sticks to surfaces, Yelin explained.

“Meth smoke is sticky” and one of the first places he tests are ceiling fans, as they usually collect the most air samples because of air currents.

Yelin said that meth residue will stay on surfaces until cleaned. “The particles don’t dissipate over time until they’re removed.”

The wood in the office would be properly cleaned and then treated with an oil-based shellac, and insulation and drywall would be added, if needed, he said.

The “real danger” of meth residue poses a threat to infants and babies that crawl, Yelin said, as the children often touch a contaminated item and then put their hand in their mouths.

High doses of methamphetamine can cause seizures in infants, he added.

Sargent said that while the district reached out to Water Rights, Inc. for testing, it will be up to the transportation company to choose a company for cleaning the office.

The cost of the testing is being paid by both the school district and the transportation company, Sargent added.

Yelin said that the Dixon School District contacted him last week to test a bus that has been in contact with Johnson, which was kept separate from the rest of the fleet by being parked in Ravalli.

A message to the district was not immediately returned.

Mutiple calls to J.C. Bussing, Inc. went straight to voicemail, and the mailbox was full, as of presstime Tuesday.