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October 24, 2007

Henry Haupt

Jesse White Announces 2007 School Bus Safety Poster Contest Winners

SPRINGFIELD – Secretary of State Jesse White today announced the winners of this year's School Bus Safety Poster Contest. The announcement was held in conjunction with National School Bus Safety Week, which began October 21.

"I want to commend these students for designing such wonderful posters to promote school bus safety," said White. "I'm proud of our safety record in student transportation. Since we started the Toby Tire School Bus Safety program in 1999, not one Illinois school child has been fatally injured in a school bus-pedestrian accident. Safe student transportation doesn't just happen. Safe student transportation is a product of constant education and reinforcement."

White and the Illinois Association for Pupil Transportation (IAPT) sponsor the poster contest for Kindergarten through eighth grade students throughout the state. A ceremony awarding the students with the winning poster designs was held October 24 in the Atrium of the Gwendolyn Brooks Illinois State Library in Springfield. Each student's poster will be reproduced in a school bus safety calendar for the year 2008 to be distributed to the schools. Each student also was given a personalized Illinois Blue Book and certificate from Secretary White. The IAPT awarded each first place winner a $100 savings bond, each second place winner a $75 savings bond and each third place winner a $50 savings bond. The first place calendars in each division are sent on to the national competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

"I want to congratulate each of the students for a job well done. I know they put a lot of effort into their designs," said Charlie Semple, President of the IAPT. "I believe this poster contest has helped to improve school bus safety in Illinois."

Students receiving awards this year are:

Division	Place	Student	School
K-2 Grade	1st	Juno Suzuki	Willow School, Homewood
K-2 Grade	2nd	Kaylin Ehlers	Pleasant Valley School, Peoria
K-2 Grade	3rd	Sierra Mendoza	Spring Grove Grade School, Spring Grove
3-6 Grade	1st	Abby Straight	Spring Grove Grade School, Spring Grove
3-6 Grade	2nd	Dennis K. Hampton, II	Madison Accelerated Middle School, Madison
3-6 Grade	3rd	Joshua Jones	Homewood Community Academy, Homewood
7-8 Grade	1st	CeOnna Bailey	Pleasant Valley School, Peoria
7-8 Grade	2nd	Corey Baker	Homewood Community Academy, Homewood
7-8 Grade	3rd	Lauren Smith	Nippersink Middle School, Richmond
Special	1st	Austin Simpson	Pleasant Valley School, Peoria
Special	2nd	Kailyn Land	J.D. Colt School, Litchfield
Special	3rd	Lauren Lucas	Anna McDonald School, Manhattan