Meet the Kids of Downtown Middle School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Kate Putnum Click here for Kate's audio file. Click here for Kate's text file.	Carmen Stackhouse Click here for Carmen's audio file. Click here for Carmen's text file	Joanna Honeycutt Click here for Joanna's audio file. Click here for Joanna's text file.

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Essays from the kids of Downtown Middle School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Kate Putnum

In order to fix our problem, we should first notify the public about all the cheap, used land in the middle of town. Many businesses would like to use this opportunity to expand. The public would also like this because, since nobody is using the land, the potential for illegal activities to go on in the area increases. I want to see changes because we are cutting down trees and destroying farmland. When there is all this cheap, used land in the middle of town. I hope with this project, we can make a difference.

Carmen Stackhouse

The Brownfields area that is close to The Downtown Middle School area is the Liberty Street Corridor. Many of the lots in this area are potential hazards. Since the businesses are closed down or abandoned and there is nobody to watch the property. The old stations might have underground pipes and oil tanks that are leaking. Some other concerns that are on Liberty Street include battery manufacturers which produce acid that is a chemical that may damage the soil. The way we could help solve these issues is by explaining to the city that these abandoned places that should not be there. We could suggest that a business buy some of this land at cheap prices and slowly turn the area back into an important revenue maker for Winston-Salem.

Joanna Honeycutt

A brownfield is a lot or space that is not bringing in tax revenue. It could have abandoned buildings and the ground can sometimes be contaminated because of the businesses that might have been there. My class is helping with a brownfield on North Liberty St. in Winston-Salem. When my class took a tour along Liberty St., we saw lots of old gas stations, abandoned car lots, an old Lowe's Hardware store, and a tobacco warehouse.