UA student gears up for gold at Rio Paralympic Games
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Aug. 31
A University of Alabama student will soon represent the United States in this years Paralympic games in Brazil. Shelby Baron is on the US Women’s Wheelchair tennis team. Baron has been training for her first Paralympics five days a week at UA, and she says that she is ready for Rio.“Of course everyone wants to go for the gold out there,” Baron said. “But my goal is to get out there and compete, and just play my best tennis out there.”The tennis player says that she has dreamed about the international competition since she was a little girl. Now she tells CBS 42 that she is so excited to be living a dream come true.“I really don’t know what to expect, and I am really excited to be in the same place that all the top athletes have played and will play,” Baron said.
Lottery issue not going away in Statehouse
Florence Times Daily – Sept. 1
The Alabama senator who got within one Statehouse vote of getting a proposed lottery to Alabamians said Tuesday he’ll be back with another lottery bill “when the time is right.” Meanwhile, Statehouse watchers say to pass the Legislature, a successful lottery bill will have to be negotiated with at least two major interest groups … Bill Stewart, the former chairman of the University of Alabama’s political science department, said there were multiple special interests involved, including those who oppose any type of gaming and those who thought Bentley’s bill was too narrow. “Gov. Bentley proposed a simple lottery but others wanted more than that,” Stewart said.
Tuscaloosa and UA team up on EMS prevention program
Crimson White – Sept. 1
In order to decrease the City of Tuscaloosa’s high non-emergency 911 call volume, Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Services and The University of Alabama’s School of Social Work have teamed up to strengthen their new EMS Prevention Program. The
program is intended to help citizens utilize more suitable resources for their care in less critical situations. “The program is housed in the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service, where emergency response personnel work with UA Social Work students to assess needs and barriers to care –
mental health, medication,
chronic illnesses – and, if needed, dispatch alternative care teams in lieu of full medical emergency teams, which often require more vehicles and personnel,” according to a City of Tuscaloosa press release from May.
Crimson White (gallery) – Sept. 1
One more time: The Million Dollar Band enters its 104th year
Crimson White – Sept. 1
August days in Alabama are hot, humid and usually pushing 90 degrees. But at Butler Field, the blazing sun doesn’t faze the Million Dollar Band. The whistle blows and they take the field – running through songs and practicing drills – all to prepare for that first performance at Saturday’s
game. Play the fight song. Stop. Make adjustments. Play it again. Practice the drill for the opening set of
pregame. Stop. Reset. Do it again. For over an hour and a half a day, five days a week, the band practices. “The biggest challenge is having that endurance on Saturdays to go from game day practice, straight to get ready, jump and do two pep rallies then go straight to the game, do pregame, do halftime and just having that mental stability and the physical
stability to just endure,” said Abbey Minor, a senior and Crimsonette co-captain. “It’s just a really long process especially in the Alabama heat those first few games, but its so worth it. At the end of the day, every single practice, every single challenge is always worth it.”
“Black girls for change” exhibit depicts a Southern town through the eyes of young women
Crimson White – Sept. 1
Hobson City is the second oldest African-American town in the United States and the oldest in the state of Alabama. It is a small city with a population of only about 800, and it just celebrated its 117th Founders Day celebration. Though the area is full of history, there are many who aren’t aware of its existence. But Hobson has been documented through twenty-nine photos now on display at The University of Alabama’s Paul R. Jones Gallery of Art. The exhibit is titled “#blackgirls4change: The Hobson City 9, Cultivating Community and Creating Change.”
Gameday changes at UA
NBC 12 (Montgomery) – Aug. 31
Both Alabama and Auburn have adopted clear bag policies…The University of Alabama also making changes to its tailgate policy. The school is introducing a family-friendly alcohol free tailgate area.
WAFF-NBC 48 (Huntsville) – Aug. 31
Civil Rights Sites Present Tourism Opportunity in America’s South and West
Associated Press – Sept. 1
Not all states and cities are letting time bury memories of their civil rights sites. In Alabama, for example, tourism officials invite visitors to experience such places as the University of Alabama’s Foster Auditorium, where Gov. George Wallace stood at the entrance to prevent two black students from entering. The students were later allowed to enroll after President Kennedy placed the Alabama National Guide under federal control.
Martinsburg Journal News (W.V.) – Sept. 1
CBS 11 (Dallas, Texas) – Sept. 1
As Alabama traffic deaths soar, ‘We’re washing blood off our highways every day’
AL.com – Sept. 1
The number of people killed in car wrecks in Alabama is up 30 percent through Monday when compared to the same date last year. In raw numbers, 423 people have died in Alabama car wrecks through Aug. 29, 2016. Through Aug. 29, 2015, the number was 324, according to Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. . . . A 2015 study by the University of Alabama said that the state needed more than 1,000 troopers on its roads for highway safety. The state currently employs less than half that number.
Saban Catholic Student Center nearly complete
AL.com – Sept. 1
Just in time for the start of college football season, a sign bearing the name “Saban Catholic Student Center” went up Tuesday on a new building in Tuscaloosa. University of Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Saban and his wife, Terry, helped raise money to build the $1.9 million, 4,600-square-foot project on campus. “They put the name up yesterday,” Bishop Robert J. Baker, head of the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, told AL.com on Wednesday. “The building is pretty much complete.” A dedication ceremony is planned for Sept. 9, he said. The Sabans took part in the groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 1 and construction has gone faster than anticipated, Baker said.
Just among friends
Neshoba (Mississippi) Democrat – Sept. 1
Katelyn Ullmer Reed, wife of Shane Reed, received fantastic news recently. She was awarded a Doctorate Degree in Social Work from the University of Alabama. She defended her dissertation and it was approved by her committee who notified her that she was now Dr. Katelyn Ullmer Reed. She has been working on a doctorate for over seven years while getting a Masters Degree, buying a house, getting married, closing and opening a business, working full time, expanding a company and also starting a family! Although she may be the last person from her cohort program to complete the program, she never gave up. She has never been more proud of an accomplishment in her entire life! Now she plans to relax before Baby Brighton makes her appearance. Shane and Katelyn own and operate the Strange Brew Coffee House and Spoon and Churn Ice Cream Shop in Starkville. Shane is a native of Philadelphia and his parents, Woody and Elise Reed live here. Congratulations to Katelyn on her great accomplishment!