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Tuscaloosa recognizes first class of student poll workers and proclaims April Child Abuse Prevention Month
Summary
Mayor Walt Maddox and the council honored student poll-worker interns who served in recent municipal elections and read a proclamation declaring April 2025 Child Abuse Prevention Month; several local agencies described outreach programs and offered contact information for volunteers.
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox and the City Council read a proclamation and recognized the first class of student poll-worker interns at the April 14 meeting, and the council also proclaimed April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Brandy Johnson introduced three student interns — Nya (Naya) Barnes, Vernon Boone and Carolyn Hurrell — who took part in a Secretary of State program that places high-school and college students as poll-worker interns. Johnson said the program had 19 applicants and 17 participants; interns were required to work at least four hours and received a full day of excused absence from school for the election day. Student participants described the experience as educational: Carolyn Hurrell said, "I definitely enjoyed getting to learn about how to work the poll books and help, like, check people in. And I would definitely recommend it." Nya Barnes said she worked in the city clerk's office and recommended the internship for other juniors and seniors.
Mayor Maddox read a proclamation designating April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and invited representatives from local agencies to speak about prevention programs. LMattocks of Child Abuse Prevention Services (presented as the group's representative) said citizens can contact agencies through their websites or by emailing lmattocks@capstuscaloosa.com and that the group provides pinwheels, lapel pins and assistance to display awareness materials. Leslie Guy of the University of Alabama's Child Development Resources described programs (Baby Talk and Alabama's Parenting Assistance Line) that support early prevention. Representatives from United Cerebral Palsy of West Alabama, United Way of West Alabama (Success By 6), Tuscaloosa City Schools (social work), and Tuscaloosa 1 Place briefly described collaborative prevention and family-strengthening services during the proclamation portion of the meeting.
The recognition highlighted ongoing local outreach efforts and the city encouraged residents to contact participating agencies for volunteer or display opportunities. No formal council action was required for the recognitions.
