FINDLAY, Ohio (WTVG) – Liberty-Benton students are bringing permanent change to their community that will help keep students safe.

When asked to write a letter about something they passionately wanted to change, one thing came to mind at Liberty-Benton: safety outside of school.

“One idea that stuck out to us a little bit was sidewalks and we kind of took that and ran with it,” said Liberty-Benton freshman Zach Campbell.

Currently, there are no sidewalks in front of the school and only one crosswalk from the neighborhood, across County Road 9, which runs through yards.

“We have a lot of kids that live in this neighborhood and so it’s very convenient for them to be able to walk,” said Liz Niese, a freshman. “But we’re a very close school and knowing that we’re putting our own students at risk for lack of safety precautions, that was kind of something that appealed to me, and I’m sure a lot of other people had felt like it just wasn’t right.

So the students got to work. They wrote letters to officials, made presentations, created renderings and talked with the community about the benefits of having sidewalks and a crosswalk outside the school.

The class of 14 students worked with the Hancock County engineer to submit a grant to the Ohio Department of Transportation to build the sidewalks and after a few years of hard work, they received the nearly $463,000 grant. for safe routes to schools.

“To see them fully invested in the project, being able to take a project from the planning stages to construction, I mean, it’s just great to see that interest and dedication and perseverance from these young people” , said Hancock County Engineer Doug Cade.

“It kind of gave us a feeling of ‘we just did this,'” said freshman Bekah Mast. “We’re kids who just completed a grant, not on our own, but with the help of adults, but we filled it out and we did it. It was just kind of a feeling of accomplishment.

Construction of the sidewalks and crosswalk is expected to begin in May 2025 and is expected to be completed by October 2025.

The students plan to apply for a second scholarship in the future, continuing to expand their reach.

Latest local news | First weather alert | Crime | National | 13abc Originals

Copyright 2024 WTVG. All rights reserved.