[Press Release] : Columbia’s Walking School Bus is focus of statewide training

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Margy Tonnies, Safe Routes to School Coordinator, The PedNet
Coalition - (573) 864-2556, margy at pednet.org or Stacia Reilly, Health
Educator, Columbia/Boone County Health Department - (573) 874-6345,
srreilly at GoColumbiaMo.com 

Columbia’s Walking School Bus is focus of statewide training

COLUMBIA, MO (February 1, 2008) - Columbia’s Walking School Bus (WSB)
program is a model which the Missouri Department of Transportation
(MoDOT) is looking to replicate. MoDOT’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS)
Program Coordinator Todd Messenger hopes that other communities around
the state will implement similar programs with use of federal SRTS
funds.

On Saturday, Feb. 2, staff from the PedNet Coalition and the
Columbia/Boone County Health Department (CBCHD) will deliver training on
how to coordinate a WSB program. The training will be held at the CBCHD,
1005 West Worley, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The training will be attended by
more than Columbia’s Walking School Bus is focus of statewide
training, page 2
30 health promoters from around the state of Missouri who are applying
for funding from MoDOT’s SRTS program.

In Columbia, the spring WSB program will kick off on March 31 at Grant,
Russell, Ridgeway, West Boulevard, Fairview, Lee, and Blue Ridge
Elementary schools. If your child is interested in participating,
registration forms and information are currently available by calling
Margy Tonnies at (573) 864-2556.

Walking to school is an easy way for children (and adults) to get the
30-60 minutes of daily physical activity recommended by the Centers for
Disease Control to maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of
chronic disease. Other benefits include reduced traffic congestion and
air pollution around schools, increased community connections and
improved focus for children in the classroom. 

Columbia’s WSB program was developed as part of the Active Living by
Design project, a partnership led by the PedNet Coalition, in
conjunction with the Columbia/Boone County Health Department, the
Columbia Public Schools and others.

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