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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2004

CONTACT: Ian Thomas
Project Director
   (573) 445-2928, pednet at pednet.org 
or
Chris Walthall
Walking School Bus Coordinator
(573) 884-0464, walthallc at missouri.edu 


Walk Your Child To School Day - West Boulevard Elementary School
									
	(COLUMBIA, MO) -  West Boulevard Elementary School students and
parents are encouraged to walk or bike to and from school on "Walk
Your Ch67uild to School Day" to be held Friday, April 23, 2004.  
	Marshall, the mascot of the Mid-Missouri Mavericks, will
accompany children, parents and teachers walking from the old Nowell's
location at West Boulevard and Worley. This "staging post" is being
set up for those students who do not live close enough to school to walk
from their homes.
	This event is held in conjunction with the Active Living By
Design project of the PedNet Coalition. Active Living By Design is a
project designed to increase physical activity among Columbia residents
by looking at environmental and policy issues, in addition to addressing
barriers to physical activity. 
	Walk Your Child to School Day is an opportunity to:
 	encourage students, parents and staff to walk, bicycle or wheel
themselves to and from school,
 	increase awareness of the importance of regular physical
activity (just 30 minutes a day of walking brings as much risk reduction
for heart attack as a high-intensity exercise program),
 	increase awareness of the importance of improved pedestrian
safety,
 	promote healthy and walkable communities, and to
 	mobilize communities to work together to create safe routes.
	The Columbia Police Department will provide traffic control.
Local businesses (Tryathletics, Mid-MO Mavericks, Empire Roller Rink and
the Activity and Recreation Center - ARC) have donated prizes for the
event.  
	Similar events were held at Grant and Russell Elementary Schools
earlier in the year. Grant's event drew 175 walkers and Russell's
event well over 200.
	For more information, please contact either Ian Thomas or Chris
Walthall.
- 30 -
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