UA’s partnership with Pickens County Medical Center could have benefits for both
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 12
The University of Alabama and the Pickens County Medical Center Partnership could have some long-term benefits. The idea would bring everyone from medical students to social workers and nutritionists to intern at the Carrollton Hospital. Supporters say it gives students real-world training, provides help to the financially troubled hospital, and could improve health care in the community. The county and university hope to ask the legislature for initial funding this spring.
WCBI-CBS (Columbus, Miss.) – Jan. 12
UA joins hunger initiative
Crimson White – Jan. 13
The University of Alabama is one of approximately 50 universities worldwide that have banded together to address global hunger. On Dec. 9, UA President Judy Bonner and leaders from other universities signed the Presidents’ Commitment to Food and Nutritional Security at the United Nations in New York City. According to UA News, The Hunger Forum and Public Signing Ceremony marked the first time universities around the world share a collective focus on ending food insecurity. Affiliates of Universities Fighting World Hunger, a worldwide coalition of more than 300 colleges and universities, have met annually since 2006 to share ideas and best practices related to local and global hunger. Leaders from more than 30 universities in the U.S., Canada and Central America gathered in February 2014 to discuss taking collective action against food insecurity and malnutrition. The pre-summit was organized by Auburn University’s Hunger Solutions Institute and co-sponsored by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Presidents Unite to Solve Hunger and the Presidents’ Commitment to Food and Nutrition Security are both direct results of the February meeting.
Alabama physics major earns national internship
Crimson White – Jan. 13
For Marissa Leshnov, science has been a crucial part of her life since childhood. “As a child, science was always presented to me in these wonderful demonstrations similar to magic shows,” she said. “I grew up admiring scientists and inventors and ultimately decided to study physics because I found that answering the questions ‘why’ and ‘how’ was very intellectually satisfying.” Leshnov, a junior majoring in physics, will be interning with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship program, conducting research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. Her research specifically focuses on developing biofuels – transportation fuels derived from organic matter, or “biomass.” “The application process was lengthy and quite rigorous, but it gave me time to reflect on exactly why I am so drawn to pursuing a career in energy research,” she said. “Do not let the fear of rejection stop you, ever. If you do not apply, you deny yourself the chance to do some self-analysis and see how your skills and experiences line up with your goals. Always take accountability for your own education.”
Wheelchair basketball team raises funds for documentary
Crimson White – Jan. 13
The University of Alabama’s wheelchair basketball program successfully captured the attention of Daniel Koenig, owner of Power 10 Films, and is currently in the process of filming a documentary. Originally based out of Phoenix, Koenig has been staying in Tuscaloosa in order to fully follow and capture what it is like being a student-athlete. Specifically with Alabama Adapted Athletics, Koenig said he saw and still sees a good, true story to be told here. “I find a lot of times you can tell somebody something, but when they see it for themselves, that’s when it hits them what something actually is,” Koenig said. Koenig has worked with both the men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams since the beginning of their seasons in October and will continue to work with them through March and their Collegiate National Tournament. “A documentary isn’t always happy,” Koenig said. “In order to have a good story, you can’t just show the wins. You have to show the losses as well.”
Stigmatized ‘murder houses’ come with grisly stories and bargain prices
Al.com – Jan. 11
When Dorothy Spears decided to rent a house on Russet Court less than a football field-length from where one of Baldwin County’s most brutal killings took place two months ago, she was aware of what she was getting into. The Gulf Shores woman said it didn’t bother her that she was moving into a home one month after the Nov. 6, 2014, homicide that took place at 16972 Russet Court. That night, 55-year-old William Minton purportedly killed his stepfather, Kenneth Hood, with a dumbbell handle before cutting up his body in the garage and discarding the remains in rural Magnolia Springs … Sherwood Clements, instructor of real estate at the University of Alabama, said a seller has to disclose “any latent or structural defects” associated with a home – health or safety issues. “But I don’t know (if a stigma, such as a murder occurring in a home) would be a health or safety issue,” Clements said. “It’s not like something such as a broken step or cracked foundation or something like that.” Clements said in cases where a murder took place, if a buyer asks the seller specifically about the incident, the truth has to be disclosed. “Alabama holds buyers responsible for due diligence,” Clements said. “In other words, we should get a home inspection, as it’s recommended, if you buy a home in Alabama. It’s the buyer’s responsibility to uncover (what lurks inside) the property.”
University offers 3-part program to help stop smoking
Crimson White – Jan. 13
In an effort to help students, faculty members and staff adjust to the campus-wide smoking ban, the University’s Human Resources department is offering two three-part sessions of QuitSmart, a program designed to help participants kick their tobacco habit. “While programs to help students, faculty [members] and staff stop smoking have been available on campus for some time, the University is offering two sessions of the QuitSmart program this month as a means to assist current smokers who are no longer able to smoke on campus and who wish to stop smoking,” said Cathy Andreen, director of media relations in an emailed statement. The first part of the program is called “Preparing to Quit” and lasts two hours. The second and third parts are called “Quit Date” and “A Maintenance Session,” respectively, and are an hour each. Participants receive a certificate upon completion of all three sessions. Delynne Wilcox, assistant director of health promotion and wellness at the Student Health Center, said the connection between a smoker’s physiological makeup and nicotine is part of what can make quitting smoking so difficult.
Free tax preparation offered for working families
Gadsden Times – Jan. 12
Impact Alabama, in coordination with RSVP of Etowah County, is offering free tax preparation services for working families in Etowah County at the Family Success Center, 821 E. Broad St. Services are available to working families making less than $52,000 a year with children in the home or $20,000 a year without children in the home. Tax services are provided by students from the University of Alabama. The tax preparation service is aimed at assisting families eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, the federal government’s largest and most successful antipoverty program for low-income, working families. Each year, however, families lose hundreds of thousands of dollars to commercial tax preparers simply to access this benefit.
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Jan. 12
Against all odds: A foster care success story!
WHNT 19 (Huntsville) – Jan. 12
Statistics would say he’d never make it. Society would label and agree. But sometimes that’s just motivation enough to prove everyone wrong. In a sea of graduates, the pomp and circumstance of success brings comradery to the class of 2014 at UNA. But in this class, there’s one success story that stands out. David Petty and his twin brother Howard were 16 when they were pulled into foster care with their younger brother Keith. They learned about life, lies and love early. But the greatest of these is love, and that would keep the brothers together. John and Sandra Allrey of Athens took the brothers to raise. … In 2010, David received a Kids to Love Scholarship. He earned the right for renewal, and in 2012, brought his brothers … David Petty is in the first week of classes at the University of Alabama, working toward his master’s in social work. His twin brother, Howard, is a junior at Alabama A & M, also studying social work. These are two of the more than 400 college scholarships Kids to Love has awarded to local youth in foster care over the last ten years. Click here to find out how you can become a scholarship partner with Kids to Love.
35 great quotes by Alabama authors
Al.com – Jan. 13
As a writer – but perhaps even more so as a reader – I often come across lines in books and feel a pang of envy that I had not strung those particular words together so beautifully myself. It’s one of the most fun things about reading, at least to me, coming across those quotes and feeling the need to simultaneously tuck away the treasure to keep for myself, and share with someone else the joy of the discovered gem … “This is a place where grandmothers hold babies on their laps under the stars and whisper in their ears that the lights in the sky are holes in the floor of heaven.” – Rick Bragg, Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg; “And Sandy Martindale … dated Elvis before the rhinestone jumpsuits and the drugs, when he was sharp and cool and jagged, like porcelain that has been hurled against a wall…” – Rick Bragg, Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg.