On Monday, Dec. 15th, 12 year old Garrett Huelskamp was hit by a car trying to get home from Simpson Middle School.   He has a broken jaw, broken nose, broken bones around his eyes, a hip injury requiring crutches, and he's lost all of the permanent teeth in the front half of his mouth.   Doctors are monitoring his vision and brain swelling.  

With written permission from Garrett and his parents, I am sharing his photo and medical details in an effort to prevent future injuries.  Please share this petition so we can get as many signatures as possible.

Current Cobb County School policy requires all middle and high school children within one mile of their school to walk, regardless of how many busy and dangerous roads they may have to cross.  The rules need to be modified to protect children like Garrett and so many others who are required to walk across busy roads like Trickum Rd., Shallowford Rd. and other busy streets to get to their school.

Dr. Andy Bristow, principal of Simpson Middle School, and Officer Dave, crossing guard at Simpson MS, have been trying for years to make the crossing safer for the kids.  Obviously, the dangerous situation created by Cobb County is beyond the efforts of the local school and needs to be changed.

 Proposed changes include:

 

-Adding a middle school bus stop on Kilkenny Way to take Callanwolde subdivision kids (like Garrett) to Simpson Middle School safely.  Several Simpson buses cut through Callanwolde anyway on Kilkenny Way, so it would cost the county nothing to have those buses stop and pick up our kids for safe transport to Simpson.

 

-Adding a red light at the school on Trickum Rd. that can be activated during school crossing hours.  The current system of asking drivers to slow down is just not working.  Drivers fly through the school zone on Trickum every day.

 

Please contact the the following responsible parties to ask for changes to keep our children safe.  Please ask them to make changes now, before any other children are hurt, or worse.  

 

Rick Grisham

Executive Director of Transportation

Cobb County Schools

678-594-8000

rick.grisham@cobbk12.org

 

Belinda McClellan

Simpson Middle School transportation supervisor

Cobb County Schools

(770) 429-5810

belinda.mcclellan@cobbk12.org

 

David Banks 

Cobb County School Board representative for Simpson Middle School

404-725-3394

dbanks.boardmember@cobbk12.org