Pupils at 10 Ala. Schools: buckling up on the bus
Associated Press National Wire – Aug. 12
…The study will be conducted by the University of Alabama and cost $1.4 million over three years. Twelve seat belt-equipped buses were purchased for 10 participating school systems and six bus aides were hired to assist with compliance among students…
Miami Herald – Aug. 12
Montgomery Advertiser – Aug. 12
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Aug. 11
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Aug. 11
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Aug. 11
WKRG (Mobile) – Aug. 11
WAKA (Montgomery) – Aug. 11
WCOV (Montgomery) – Aug. 11
WSFA (Montgomery) – Aug. 11
WTOK (Meridian) – Aug. 11
Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, study group discuss seat belts on school buses
Birmingham News – Aug. 12
…Last year, there were 421 traffic accidents involving school buses and in 359 of those no students were injured, according to the CARE Research & Development Laboratory of the University of Alabama. Of those accidents, one had a fatality…Dan Turner, director of the University Transportation Center for Alabama, said that he has seen that students often turn around in their seats to talk to someone behind them. In an accident, the seat belt could injure that student’s spine, Turner said…
Governor buckles up with students in Northport
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 12
…Dan Turner, director of the University Transportation Center at UA, said his researchers are collecting data on school systems that already use seat belts on school buses, as well as looking at data from school bus crashes over the last 10 years. Other data to be collected will include the effect of seat belts on students’ behavior, the amount of time it takes to get students buckled into their seats and a cost-benefit analysis. ‘Nobody has the data to tell how effective seat belts will be,’ Turner said. ‘That study hasn’t been done.’ Turner said the study might well reveal that more buses will be needed, because seat-belt-equipped buses can’t hold as many students. And more buses mean more fuel costs for school districts…
UA Honor Students Give Back to the Community
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Aug. 11
Some University of Alabama students are hard at work before their classes even start. Members of the Honors College are giving back to the community and offering a little mentoring on the side…
Dreamland barbecue to be served at stadium
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 12
…Barbecue from Dreamland will be added to the concession stands at Bryant-Denny this fall, officials with Crimson Tide Sports Marketing confirmed Monday…Ken Wilson, who coordinates catering for the stadium, said Dreamland quarter-pound pulled pork sandwiches, quarter-pound pulled chicken sandwiches, smoked sausage, barbecue nachos and banana pudding have been added to the menu. The items will be available at five of the 50 concessions locations in the stadium: one on the field level at gate 12, two on the mezzanine level, one on the west upper deck and one on the east upper deck…
Road intended to ease traffic
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 12
Construction work that closed one lane of traffic on Jack Warner Parkway will end with a new intersection and traffic light. Crews hired by the University of Alabama are clearing land in preparation to pave a new road, an extension of Marr’s Spring Road from Campus Drive to Jack Warner Parkway. The $3 million road is part of $6.6 million in infrastructure improvements to the area between UA and the Sherwood neighborhood. The road will not open until late summer 2009, though, because its main purpose will be to ease traffic in the core of the campus when a 968-bed dorm opens in August 2009, said Tim Leopard, assistant vice president for planning design and construction…The extended Marr’s Spring Road is intended to be the main access point to campus for more than 1,500 students who will occupy the dorms. Without it, student vehicles would empty onto McCorvey Drive behind the Ferguson Center and tie up the busy intersections to the north and south…
Education briefs
Birmingham News – Aug. 12
Margaret Stieg Dalton, professor of library and information studies in the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences, recently received the Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award from the American Library Association in recognition of her contributions to reference librarianship
Correction
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 12
A list of degrees awarded by the University of Alabama during summer commencement on Saturday omitted some names. Clifford Thomas Lewis III of Wilmington, N.C., was a doctoral degree candidate. Annie Elizabeth Poole of Tuscaloosa was a bachelor’s degree candidate. The list appeared on pages 6-7A on Sunday.