www.newrivervalley.com

Amid the news of a national salmonella outbreak in peanut butter, at least one New River Valley school system is temporarily removing its peanut butter products from cafeterias.

Radford City Schools Superintendent Chuck Bishop said the schools in his district are not using peanut butter as a precautionary measure. Bishop said the peanut-butter sandwiches regularly given to students as a substitute for a hot lunch have been replaced with cheese sandwiches.

Although schools are taking the steps, none of the peanut butter used in the school system has been affected by the outbreak. A complete list of the recalls can be found here.

Other school systems, including Montgomery and Floyd, said they have been notified that all their peanut butter is safe and they are not pullling any from school lunches.

Next week, the U.S. Senate will take up the $819 billion  "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."  that passed last night through the house.

The House Bill outlines a investment to education over two years, designed to boost programs such as early childhood education, construction, technology and charter schools.

The New River Valley looks to bring in about $11.9 million, according to a preliminary breakdown from the House Appropriations Committee. Two-year totals for each of the valley's divisions are:

• Montgomery County - $ 5,074,700
• Radford City -$ 600,800
• Giles County - $ 1,525,200
• Pulaski County - $ 3,512,400
• Floyd County - $ 1,206,200

You can see a complete list of Virginia's share here.

What is your take on the stimulus? Where do you think the money should go?

The preliminary "Safe routes to school" travel plan for students at two Blacksburg schools has officially been approved.

On Friday, the Virginia Department of Transportation gave the town of Blacksburg, Montgomery County Public Schools and the YMCA to go-ahead to apply for up to $100,000 to educate the public about alternatives to driving to school and safe ways to walk, and up to $500,000 to construct pathways to accomplish more walking.

Some options discussedincluded lowering the speed limit in school zones and adding sidewalks around the areas of Gilbert Linkous Elementary and the New School.

Both the town and the YMCA will submit their applications by Dec. 31. They won't know whether they received the money until May.