Bus Breakdown in Odenton and Discovery of Old Artillery Round at Fort Meade Causes Delays

Students at Odenton Elementary School were delayed in getting home this afternoon due to the breakdown of a bus earlier on Monday. 

The school kept students in classrooms for between 20 to 30 minutes, as buses were delayed in arriving to pick up students. The delay stemmed from the breakdown of a bus earlier in the afternoon at Arundel Middle School, which blocked other buses from moving. 

Parents were notified by robocall of the delay. Students who normally walk home from school were permitted to leave on time.

In an unrelated incident, students at four schools at Fort Meade were also delayed after a contractor unearthed an old rocket-propelled artillery round during construction work near the corner of MacArthur Road and Ernie Pyle Street. Students at Meade High, MacArthur Middle School, Manor View and Meade Heights were affected as buses were directed around the site.

Base spokeswoman Mary Doyle said the contractor immediately stopped work upon discovery of the round. Explosives experts from Andrews Air Force Base were called in, and they transported it to the Fort Meade artillery range, where it was blown up. No one was injured in the incident. 

"There's always a possibility we'll find these things and we treat it very seriously," Doyle said. 

Editor's Note: This article has been corrected to clarify the type of explosive device found at Fort Meade.