Deal: All metro schoolchildren returned to families

Working with school districts across the metro Atlanta area, Gov. Nathan Deal is pleased to announce that all schoolchildren have now been returned safely to their families. Under Deal’s orders, the National Guard and State Patrol have assisted local districts in completing these safe transfers.

“Metro Atlanta’s children are home safe and sound, and I would like to thank all of the dedicated school officials, Guardsmen and law enforcement who worked through the night to reunite worried families,” Deal said. “Yesterday, I ordered the Guard to prioritize stranded school buses full of students. With Humvees, they were able to get the buses moving and deliver food and water to the students. Last night, we had at least 95 immobile buses. We had cleared them all by this morning, and that was a big task. Our next task was getting students home from school, and now we have achieved that.

“As I said this morning, my goal for the day was to get all stranded motorists moving or to a secure location by the end of the day. This afternoon, I joined law enforcement officials on an aerial inspection of our roadways, and we’ve seen tremendous progress with traffic moving steadily throughout the region.

“Even with this progress, work still remains. I encourage people in areas where snow and ice remain to stay off the roads, which state officials are continuing to treat. I have told state employees to not report to their offices tomorrow in an effort to limit traffic. I encourage others to do the same. With rising temperatures, we hope to return to normalcy tomorrow.”