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Kids learn the power of the pen Photo by Jim Craven Jewett Elementary School third-graders line a part of the curb on Manzanita Street in Central Point. Their letter-writing campaign persuaded the city to add sidewalks to the street and other streets around the school's campus. Central Point third-graders successfully lobby for sidewalks By VICKI GUARINO CENTRAL POINT -- The mayor's term as a volunteer teacher has shown students they have a lot of say in how their city operates. Their letters to City Hall are persuading officials to build sidewalks around Jewett Elementary School. The students, all Jewett third-graders who happen to be in Mayor Bill Walton's Junior Achievement civics class, say the neighborhood is unsafe for walkers. "I think we need sidewalks so people don't get hurt and hurt other people," says student Sherry Lubin, who walks to school. "People are walking in the road, and the cars go by really fast," says classmate Michael Carson. The sidewalk campaign began after a field trip to local businesses for a class project. The students didn't have to walk far, but getting around the neighborhood of the freeway interchange wasn't easy. "They had to walk out in the street around parked cars, or through people's yards," says teacher Jeff Marrocco. "There was a lot of broken glass." Just a few days later, Walton arrived to begin his five-week stint as a volunteer in the Junior Achievement education program. By coincidence, the topic of his first session was city planning. "When I came to their class they said, `Why are their no sidewalks?"' Walton recalls. "It just happened to fall into place." Like any other special-interest group, Walton told students, they need to make their concerns known. He suggested the letter-writing campaign. Soon, some 75 letters from third-graders had piled up in the city manager's office. A couple of letters were read at a city budget committee meeting last week. In response, the committee agreed to allocate $74,500 for sidewalks in the area around Jewett School. "Definitely, their letter writing had an impact," Walton says. When Walton returned to class on Monday for his next Junior Achievement session, he told students of their success. "Your letters have done something," Walton told them. "So next year, when you have sidewalks there, you can say, `I was the one who instigated that."' As it happens, the students' request fit with an agreement between the city and the school district to put sidewalks where they would be most useful to students. The agreement was struck last year, when Central Point school officials were considering cutting some bus runs to help balance the budget. More students would be walking to school, many through neighborhoods without sidewalks. Some sidewalks coordinated by the district and the city were built last summer. It turned out that no bus runs had to be cut last fall, but city and school officials are continuing the pedestrian planning effort. "It's better for the whole community," Walton says. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA