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Thursday, September 29th, 2011
Metro fare program for D.C. students experiencing delays,Hemroids
A program that was supposed to make it easier for students to ride the Metro with an electronic pass probably wont be up and running in full swing until later this year District and Metro officials said Wednesday.
The District Department of Transportation launched an effort this summer to allow students from kindergarten through grade to use discounted fare cards to ride Metro buses and trains. Students could enroll to use the One Card which they already used to access recreation centers and libraries on Metros transit system.One key feature of the program is supposed to be that students will be able to renew passes at any Metro station instead of taking an application from school to a division of DDOT and then a Metro sales office. But students cant renew their cards at any Metro station because of a problem with the transit agencys software.Metro expects to fix the problem by November or December spokesman Dan Stessel said.
The One Card has an embedded SmarTrip chip. Metro has had problems with SmarTrip and plans to roll out a new electronic payment system that lets riders use bank cards federal identification and some smart phones to ride the system.The technology is old Stessel said of SmarTrip. Anytime youre talking about implementing new features or functionality to a fare technology that is years old it is sometimes not as easy as we would want it to be.A pilot program for students at School Without Walls went well officials said but renewing the electronic fare cards was not part of it.
The program was delayed because the District had a backlog of applications and brought in staff over the Labor Day weekend to process them said John Lisle a spokesman for DDOT.Some students and parents waited until the last minute to turn in applications Lisle said. Last year the District hired part-time workers to help process forms Lisle said but that wasnt done this year because of budget cuts.
Tags: Hemroids
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Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Charities helping wildfire victims need volunteers more than clothes
Donation sites for the victims of the Bastrop wildfire are overrun with bags of used clothing, household items, and toiletries. However, many are in desperate need of volunteers to help sort and distribute the donations to families who need it.At a donation site located near the entrance of the Tahitian Village neighborhood near Highway 71 and Tahitian Drive, volunteers were busy sorting useful items from junk Wednesday.“Everywhere you look there is just bags and bags of clothes,Hemroids,” said volunteer Lessa Ennis.
Ennis drove in from Austin to help sort a mountain of used clothing and help fire victims find what they need.At that site, volunteers turned away clothing donations Wednesday afternoon. Ennis said cash and gift cards are in greater need at this point and volunteers can not keep up with donations.The Bastrop Greater Christian Outreach Center is running donation sites as well. The church is working with victims to locate the items they need and provide financial support. However, in the meantime so many clothes have been donated, they will have to be stored in warehouses.
Tammy Benton said the generosity of others has helped her stay strong. The wildfire burned her home and her mother’s home.“The community has been a wonderful support system,” Benton said. “It’s going to be okay. We believe God will help us recover and do great things in our lives.”Catholic Charities of Central Texas and the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store are working together to sort a huge warehouse full of donations at 9204 Brown Lane in North Austin.There are bags of clothes, boxes of toiletries, and piles of household items. The only thing lacking is more manpower to sort the donations.Volunteers are needed more than clothing donations. Catholic Charities of Central Texas Executive Director Melinda Rodriquez said cash and gift cards are also needed.
Tags: Hemroids, Piles
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