Rhino calf’s death unsolved
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Officials at the Montgomery Zoo say they’re unsure of why an Indian rhinoceros calf died in mid-October.
Zoo officials told the Montgomery Advertiser Wednesday that tissues from the rhino calf, named Ethan, were sent to three different labs and none of them could determine the calf’s cause of death.
The calf was named after the South Alabama boy who was pulled from a bus and held hostage in an underground bunker earlier this year. The calf was about 4 months old when he died.
Ethan’s mother, 12-year-old Jeta, died Nov. 20. Her cause of death is unclear.
Zoo Director Doug Goode says Ethan was the first Indian Rhinoceros calf conceived through artificial insemination to be born in the U.S. and losing him “has been a heart-wrenching situation.”
Woman in truck gunned down
ATLANTA – Atlanta police are investigating the death of a woman who was gunned down in a pickup truck on the city’s northwest side.
Police tell WSB-TV that the driver of the truck stopped to give a hitchhiker a ride near North Avenue and James P. Brawley Drive late Tuesday night. They say that when the driver stopped, another person walked up and fired into the truck.
Police said the driver drove to a nearby gas station for help. The woman was taken to a hospital, where she died of her injuries.
Neither the driver nor another passenger in the truck were able to offer a detailed description of the shooter.
UGA to remove data from records
ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Georgia intends to erase Social Security numbers from millions of computer records in a move aimed at protecting the personal information of employees.
The Athens Banner-Herald reports that the data will be deleted next month.
Brian Rivers, associate chief information officer for information security, says the action will eliminate a lot of information security risk at the university.
Stacy Boyles, information technology manager for identity management, says that Social Security numbers on more than 50 million computer records will be changed to UGA ID numbers in the school’s human resources, payroll, administrative and central financial records.
Boyles said some records that now use Social Security numbers will be converted to other alternative ID forms, such as vendor numbers.
Civil War site grants available
NASHVILLE – Grants for protecting Civil War and Underground Railroad sites in Tennessee will be made available starting Sunday.
The $483,000 program created under a state law enacted this year will help pay for acquiring or preserving land associated with 38 Civil War sites determined to be the most historically significant in Tennessee.
The matching grants also will help fund Underground Railroad sites eligible for the National Register of Historic Places or for being designated a National Historic Landmark.
Wars Commission program director Fred Prouty said in a release that the program will be a “significant boost” for protecting areas where soldiers fought and died and to preserve places associated with escaped slaves’ road to freedom.
Applications are due on Feb. 1.