The recent rash of severe winter weather has taken its toll on Linn-Mar's bus fleet, putting two of the district's buses temporarily out of service in less than a week, but causing no injuries.

Last Friday, January 22, a car ran into a Linn-Mar lift bus at the corner of 29th Ave. and 35th St. in Marion. The bus was carrying one student at the time; no one involved in the accident was hurt.

The bus's lift, which is used to accommodate disabled students, was damaged in the incident and will need to be repaired, Linn-Mar officials said.

The following school day, this past Monday, January 25, a second district bus slid into a ditch on Martin Creek Road, southeast of the intersection of Hwy. 13 and Hwy. 100. The two students on board had no injuries. A semi tow truck was called in to pull the bus from the ditch later that morning.

Also that day, a third bus was rear-ended on C Ave., causing no significant damage to the bus, which was carrying no students at the time.

Linn-Mar officials said that the bus from Friday's accident and the one that fell into the ditch have both been temporarily replaced by buses in the district's reserve fleet, which consists of about 10 buses that are usually used for transporting students, staff and faculty on field trips and to athletic events. No further disruption to the district's bus routes was expected.