The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 63

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JlPj DAVIDSON AM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2003 TRAFFIC CONSTRUCTION WEST DAVIDSON HT 1 )r-a 1 I SCHOOLS TECHNOLOGY New computer software will 'revolutionize' Metro libraries District set to choose between two finalists -r i MM- i.i. ADRIANE JAECKLE STAFF When the first phase of work on the Interstate 40Robertson Road Interchange Is complete, commuters from Briley Parkway to 1-40 will be able to skip right over Robertson Road and its red lights via 60-foot-tatl flyovers. "It's about 10 complete," said Ray Bell of Ray Bell Construction which started on the job in November. I-40Robertson work taking shape $43.6 million first phase set for 2005 completion should do, how to do certain reports for us that we had to do manually," Whitworth said. The system will help us be more electronic-based when it comes to acquisitions.

We'll be able to do our cataloging a whole lot faster and a lot easier." One thing the new software will not do is cut library jobs, said Lance Lott, chief of technology with Metro schools. But it will cut down on paperwork and endless lists of lost and checked-out books that many schools keep as hard copy. Students will be able to browse through book tides from their home if they have a computer and Internet access, Whitworth said. Librarians will be able to look at what other schools in their clusters have on their shelves and request interlibrary loans, she said. "The system will help us be more electronic-based when it comes to acquisitions.

We'll be able to do our cataloging a whole lot faster and a lot easier'1 Susan Whitworth, coordinator of library services wrrJi Metro schools This all is good news to Lynn Lilley, a librarian at McGavock High School. Lilley said the AIMS system doesn't offer much in terms of a book cataloging database, doesn't allow for storing extensive circulation data and frequently crashes. "When we did inventory last year, a report of what we checked out was wiped out," said Lilley, who's been at the school for 10 years. "I had to manually key it in. But if I didnt have a printout, I would have lost that data." One of the things that excites Lilley is the ability to track patterns of circulatioa With that data readily available, Lilley said, she will be able to react to trends and more quickly order books that are in demand.

By NATALIA MIELCZAREK Staff Writer Library card catalogs and manual data entry soon will be things of the past at Metro's 125 schools. The school district is about to make a final selection of a computer software program that will change a wide range of practices in all school libraries, from inventory and data storage to placing orders and doing research. Three software firms presented their products last week to a Metro evaluation committee composed of school librarians, library coordinators, technology specialists and Nashville Public Library representatives. Two firms were selected as finalists. The next step for the school district is to check out references of the two companies, possibly visit schools that use their software and make the final call "This will revolutionize the library system in our schools," said Susan Whit-worth, coordinator of library services with Metro schools.

"It will be easier to use for the students and it will make (the librarians' job) easier. The system that we have now is most cumbersome." Improvements for school libraries are a part of sys-temwide technology upgrades that the Metro school system embarked on last year. The major thrust has been a new student information system, which will allow teachers to record grades, attendance, test scores and other data on a computer program. Last year, the Metro school board approved a $53 million contract with Chancery Student Management Solutions of Canada, a firm that already works with several Tennessee school systems. For the past 12 years, Metro has been using a system called AIMS, which has served as a student data information storage program.

It was not designed specifically, for library use, Whitworth said, and had to be adapted to fulfill the basic library functions. Whitworth pointed out several highlights of the proposed new library systems. "The programs we're looking at are tuned into what a school library should have, what kind of transactions it The first phase involves building connector O-O" ramps to northbound Briley Parkway from westbound 1-40; and to eastbound 1-40 from southbound Briley Parkway (in yellow, at left). "listX Plans also call for the 46th Avenue ramps to J'j I- 'tonBlocated to 51 st Avenue. Phase Two will see the coretruction of a third level of connector ramps e' 43ur4 connecting I -40 drivers with Briley JrQtff13 iyFC? (in red).

jSMaparaa Bell Constructioa Crews already have relocated more than 100 utility poles, 15 fire hydrants, two main sewer lines and four water mains. To avoid interrupting traffic further, they're blasting through solid rock under Briley Parkway to create a utility tunnel, Howell said. The first phase of the project includes adding ramps for Briley Parkway travelers heading to 1-40 east toward downtown and those heading west on 1-40 away from the city. This phase also includes new turn lanes at the Robertson RoadUrbandale AvenueBriley Parkway intersectioa The second phase will involve two more ramps one to take drivers from southbound Briley Parkway to westbound 1-40 toward Memphis, and one to take drivers from eastbound 1-40 to northbound Briley Parkway. The existing ramps will serve local traffic at Urbandale, Robertson, Charlotte Pike and White Bridge Road, Agnew said.

The construction may be inconvenient, but the outcome will be a relief, especially for motorists traveling southbound on the four-lane Briley Parkway, said Wallace Lamp-ley, president of the Charlotte Park Neighborhood Association "It was really becoming a terrible mess," Lampley said. "I come through there every day just about, and it was almost like youVe got a red light in the middle of the interstate." Councilwoman Norma Hand, who lives nearby, said the biggest complaint she's heard from area residents hasn't been about noise or lane closures, but about people dumping their trash on vacant land near the project "It's starting to take shape," Hand said of the road work. "I can imagine how it's going to be when these lanes are in and people won't have to exit into residential streets." By REBECCA DENTON Staff Writer Mounds of dirt, piles of rock and winding lengths of orange construction fence have transformed the landscape on both sides of the Interstate 40Robertson Road interchange, where the steady drone of traffic mingles with the rumble and beep of backhoes and cranes. It's an upheaval that'll be here for awhile. The $43.6 million first phase of the highway project is scheduled to be complete in late 2005, and the second phase sometime after that But after about five months of work, the massive development is beginning to take shape: Forty-foot-tall concrete columns are rising out of the earth, the first tangible evidence of a mile-long bridge that will allow drivers to avoid the congested intersection altogether.

Commuters from Briley Parkway to 1-40 will be able to skip right over Robertson Road and its red lights via 60-foot-tall flyovers. "Ifs about 10 complete," said Ray Bell of Ray Bell Construction Co, which started on the job in November. "It will really bloom this summer. We had a horrible winter with cold and rain, but with the sun moving to the south, your days are so much longer already. We'll average 56 hours a week, at least." The work is being done with at least 35,000 cars passing through the intersection each day about three times the number originally intended for the spot, said Luanne Grandinetti, Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman.

Nearly 40 years ago when the SOURCE: Tennessee Department of Transportation DREW WHITE STAFF interstate was built, the Robert-sonI-40 interchange was designed to serve local traffic. Briley Parkway was constructed in stages over time, and when the last section was opened in 1999, the traffic count increased dramatically. The jump in volume was anticipated, Grandinetti said, tut you can't build everything all at once." In terms of cost, the project is one of the largest individual highway developments in the state, said Michael Agnew, assistant director of the design division at TDOT. The crews are widening six bridges and building nine new bridges, 20 retaining walls and a noise walL They expect to use 46,000 cubic yards of concrete, 1500 tons of structural steel and about eight miles of concrete beams just for the first phase. "It's pretty good-sized," Bell said.

"It's as complex a project in highway work as we've ever touched." The job is particularly complicated because it involves relocating f)ower, phone, cable and sewer ines; water and gas mains; and a drainage ditch between Delaware Avenue and 1-40. "You've got probably four times as many utilities to deal with as you normally do," said Dennis Howell, superintendent on the project for CASA program is voice for abused, neglected kids Volunteers attend hearings, help children find homes 'light of Hope' ceremony CASA win observe April as National Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month with its annual "Light of Hope" ceremony at 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Juvenile Justice Center, 1 00 Woodland a lb become a CASA volunteer, call 862-8031 or visit www.casa-nashvflle.org. years in foster care. With a CASA volunteer, statistics show children will find a safe and permanent home one year quicker." Hussey said there are about LOGO abused and neglected children in Davidson County's court system and more than 10,000 in Tennessee.

Last year, 517 children received direct services from a CASA volunteer. "CASA volunteers can be a sounding board and try to give these kids a sease of well-being and confidence," Krebs said. "We let them know we are there to get them through any difficulties and tell them they can be productive citizens in their lives." CASA needs more dedicated volunteers like Krebs, Hussey added. "The only requirement Is that you want to make a difference in the life of a child," on behalf of childrea" said Dr. Christopher Greenly, director of Vanderbilt University's child abuse and neglect program.

"CASA is an example of an association that really focuses on taking high-risk children and doing whatever they can do to give them a better chance of success and happiness in life." Davidson County's CASA program is a member of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association and has provided volunteers for children caught in the judicial system for the past 19 years. The CASA program is about finding safe and permanent homes for abused and neglected childrea so they dont languish in foster care year after year," said Sallie Hussey, CASA executive director for Davidson County. "Children without a CASA volunteer spend an average of three By NANCY DEVILLE Staff Writer Abused and neglected children caught up in the juvenile court system need someone to speak up for them. Dick Krebs does just that "My job is to try to help these kids through this process and make their desires known to the court," said Krebs, 55, a volunteer with the Court Appointed Special Advocates program, or CASA "If you have someone standingup there for you, it makes all the difference." Krebs is one of about 200 Davidson County residents who have received training through CASA to serve in the court system. Once assigned to a case, each volunteer works to determine the facts and circumstances that will help bring about a judicial resolution that is in the best interest of the child.

"A CASA volunteer is the eyes and ears of the judicial court" Krebs said. "They depena on us because they know we are working directly with the kids and have their best interest at heart" Volunteers are required to attend all court proceedings in their assigned case. Their intervention may affect not only the child's future living status but also his or her emotional health. "When we look at child abuse and its prevention, the most important factors depend upon having people advocating she said. Volunteers undergo an extensive 33-hour training program, followed by 12 hours of in-service training each year after graduatioa Krebs encourages others to volunteer.

"We need more volunteers, and it's a worthwhile thing if you like working with kids," he said. "Knowing that you helped a child that has been part of the system get placed back into their family or placed in an adoptive home feels good." rWlf 1 ft "IW'W mm a at.