It takes more than a pencil pusher and a couple drivers to make the wheels on a bus go round. The Campbell County School District Vehicle Maintenance Building is a cramped space of efficiency, chaos, and friendship. An ordinary day is anything but typical. Dispatch operators are often talking on the radio to drivers about routes changes, while at the same time on a phone call with a distraught parent, and simultaneously coordinating with mechanics to fix a broken bus. That's just the first ten minutes. Supervisor of Transportation Keith Chrans understands a rapidly growing city requires compromise and innovation. "We don't want to lose our small or hometown mentality, but we need to be more in line with how larger districts are run," Chrans said. "Not only are the students increasing, the number of routes and bus stops increasing, but just what we do has changed. In the last five years, the number of kids bused to and from schools has raised from 3,350, to more than 5,000. In a single day, the 110 Campbell County routes drive a total of 10,700 miles. That's 275,000 gallons of gas per year. The Bus Barn is a pretty appropriate story for my first post in the new city. After walking around town looking for something to shoot, there was an overpopulated bus parking lot. I mean they parked these buses everywhere. On streets, in front of houses, in other parking lots, it's ridiculous. Gillette's population has grown almost 30% since 2005. It's a small city getting bigger city and I've seen things here I would never have expected, mostly because of the access. The Bus Barn is a microcosm of the city. The locals are good, smiling, hard-working people trying to adapt to their growing town. Thanks for looking and lots more on the way. Bus Barn_01 Bus Barn_02 Bus Barn_03 Bus Barn_04 Bus Barn_05 Bus Barn_06 Bus Barn_07 Bus Barn_08 Bus Barn_09