Roseville High buckles up for bucks

Roseville's Tigers roared into first place for the annual High School Safety Belt Challenge, earning $500 for their school and a whole lot of bragging rights.The Roseville Police-sponsored contest, which ran Feb. 19-29, encourages seatbelt usage and safe-driving habits among high school students. Roseville High School posted the highest seatbelt usage rate among the four participating high schools, said Police Spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther: ninety-seven percent of drivers entering the campus were observed wearing seatbelts before the campaign, and 99 percent did so afterward, according to a news release.Roseville High student coordinators Morgan Kurz and Chris Foppiano won the Spirit Award for the most diverse and enthusiastic campaign, Gunther said. Each will each receive gift certificates to the Westfield Galleria at Roseville.Granite Bay High School received second place. There, an 88 percent seatbelt rate before the campaign improved to 97 percent afterwards. The showing earned the school $300. Student coordinators for GBHS were Sean Sladek, Allie Broadland and Tyler Tennissen.The yearly contest features two safety belt inspections at campus entrances and promotional activities to increase awareness about the importance of seatbelts.Funding for Roseville's safety belt challenge was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Gunther said.