‘Humble hero’ gets commendation
Driver's fast actions kept 18 schoolchildren alive: RCMP
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Winnipeg Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*$1 will be added to your next bill. After your 4 weeks access is complete your rate will increase by $0.00 a X percent off the regular rate.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/06/2011 (5201 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Kenneth Paul is a man of few words, but during a critical moment, he was a man of action.
Sitting in the visitors’ galley at the Manitoba legislature on Wednesday, Paul wiped tears from his eyes after Aboriginal Affairs Minister Eric Robinson paid tribute to his heroism. MLAs from all parties applauded him.
Paul is a school bus driver who likely prevented serious injuries to 18 teenagers after a horrific head-on collision on Highway 6 on May 26.
The driver and three other people in the oncoming car, including a baby, all died.
“Kenny, the members of this chamber and I are incredibly proud of you,” Robinson said as he read a formal tribute into the legislative record.
Robinson called Paul “a humble hero whose quick thinking and level-headedness protected a bus full of teenage passengers.”
Outside the legislature chamber, Robinson pointed out that Paul’s act of heroism comes at a time when his community needs heroes the most.
Lake Manitoba First Nation faces severe flooding. School has been interrupted and the road to the community from Highway 68 is at times impassable.
“They are having a tough time with the flood situation. And he saved all these kids,” Robinson said.
Prior to the formal tribute, Robinson presented Paul with a star blanket, a symbol of honour for First Nations, and a plaque to commemorate his actions.
Students take a 134-kilometre round trip by bus every day to Lundar for school, and their lives depend on Paul behind the wheel, Chief Barry Swan said.
Lake Manitoba First Nation is about 200 km northwest of Winnipeg and 67 km from Lundar, the nearest town with a high school. Lobbying for their own high school has failed to persuade Ottawa to build one, Swan said.
On May 26, Paul had just pulled out of Lundar onto Highway 6, heading home with a busload of students from grades 9-12 when the car struck the bus.
The tragedy would have been worse, but the bus driver adeptly slowed the bus and drove toward the shoulder of the highway, an act that saved lives and injuries, RCMP said.
Swan said Paul was uncomfortable with the attention and didn’t want to talk about the crash Wednesday.
“He is a hero in my mind. We’re blessed that we have a man like him to take care of our children,” the chief said.
— with files from Larry Kusch
alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca