Explosives to demolish UA’s aging Rose Towers Wednesday
Tuscaloosa News – July 1
Rose Towers has housed University of Alabama students for more than 40 years, but at 8 a.m. Wednesday the aging dorm will be reduced to a pile of rubble in less than 15 seconds. About 400 pounds of explosives will be detonated with a blast as loud as a rock concert that will be audible from a mile away. The 780 charges will be placed on the first, second and sixth floors of the dorm, causing the center of the building to collapse first. The rest of the 13-story building will then cave in on itself. Debris from the explosion is not expected to travel more than 30 feet from the original footprint of the building. “It has taken approximately three weeks to prep the building for the implosion and it will take between 10 and 15 seconds to implode once the charges are ignited,” said Tim Leopard, UA’s assistant vice president for construction and construction administration in an email. “On the floors where the charges are placed, the entire floor will be completely gutted. The only remaining elements will be the structural supports where the charges are to be placed. “The charges are placed in locations so that structural integrity of the building is compromised and the weight of the structures causes the collapse,” he said.
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – June 29
WTVM-ABC (Columbus, Ga.) – July 2
THE MOM STOP: Spending habits important to teach children
Tuscaloosa News – July 1
About 88 percent of parents say it’s important to monitor their child’s spending and guide their money useage, according to a 2005 survey conducted by Visa. But at the same time, 76 percent of parents say their high school student does not have a budget. I know it’s important to raise my children to be financially responsible adults. I want them to learn the value of saving money, of delayed gratification and that sometimes things are better if you wait. I don’t want them to fall into the trap of credit card debt like so many young adults do, and I want them to know the difference of needs vs. wants. The question is, how do I start and at what age? About 2 to 3 years old is the perfect time to start, said Jan Brakefield, assistant professor in the University of Alabama’s Department of Consumer Sciences. “It’s all about timing, when your child connects the dots and understands that if they want something, they can barter,” Brakefield said. Even young children observe their parents paying for items at the grocery store with cash or a debit card and pick up the basics early, Brakefield said. At a young age, it’s important that parents start talking to them about saving.
UA students win national robot competiton
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – June 30
There is a whole lot of winning taking place here at the University of Alabama. Let’s see, football, golf, softball, and now, a championship robot. Here, computer engineering (students) at the University of Alabama … what we’re looking at is a championship, another championship for Alabama, huh?
UA Museum of Natural History holds archaeological dig
WAAY-ABC (Huntsville)
Members of the University of Alabama’s Museum of Natural History have been working in the Shoals are for the past three weeks. They’ve been conducting a “dig” around Cane Creek Canyon in Tuscumbia. Groups including middle and high school students have participated, doing field science, lab activities and camping. The findings will be documented in a written report which will be filed in the University of Alabama’s Museum of Natural History.
University of Alabama hosts camp for kids with diabetes
Tuscaloosa News – June 30
An interactive and educational day camp for children ages 6 to 15 diagnosed with diabetes is coming to Tuscaloosa on July 9-11, according to executive director for the Southeastern Diabetes Education Center Rhonda McDavid. The three-day camp, dubbed Camp Sugar Falls, will meet from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day at the University of Alabama’s Student Recreation Center, she said. The goal of the camp is to help children learn to independently manage their diabetes and to make friends, McDavid said. The camp will make full use of the recreation center’s facilities, offering activities such as swimming and rock climbing as well as assorted arts and crafts, she said. Medical professionals will provide daily sessions on diabetes education, she said. The camp will be staffed by 20 trained volunteers, including physicians, nurses, diabetes educators, nutritionists, pharmacists and program counselors, many of whom have diabetes, McDavid said.