Speaking out against pollution

The billboardemphasizes theimportance ofcleaning up the river.
By VANESSA SCHUTZ
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
STRUTHERS -- Rachel Sedlacko of Struthers has decided to stand up and speak out against pollution.
The 13-year-old Struthers Middle School pupil mimicked the latest anti-tobacco commercials in her Mahoning River Project Poster Contest entry, winning her a spot on a local billboard to display her message against pollution.
Her poster, picked from more than 500 entries from pupils in grades five through eight, has been enlarged from its original 18-by-24-inch size to serve as a local environmentally conscious display.
The billboard was put up last week and will be displayed for about a month in front of LaVilla sports bar in Struthers.
"It's not just doing a poster, but taking action," said school art teacher Ron Mistovich. "The children are speaking up about pollution."
The poster contest follows an intensive study of the Mahoning River Watershed, which emphasizes the visual display of important concepts learned.
Education project
For the past three years, Youngstown State University's Center for Urban & amp; Regional Studies has partnered with the school and others in the Mahoning River Education Project. The project is a two-week intensive study that stresses the importance of river education and pollution management.
Pupils take field trips to the local watershed to learn more about the ecosystem, groundwater and harmful pollutants. Each teacher adapts his or her classroom lesson to these topics as well.
"This is powerful for both the students and teachers because a lot of people don't recognize the river enough," said Holly Burnett, YSU coordinator of the project. "This study allows them to reinvent the river."
The river, which once served as a sewer to the steel mills on its borders from Warren to Lowellville, is home to millions of creatures that live in and along the body of water. The river project aims to present an array of experiences to make the pupils more environmentally conscious and create an awareness of local pollution problems. Burnett believes it has fueled local pupils' interest in their environment.
"You want someone to look at it [the poster] and absorb that information," Burnett said. "A lot of kids don't like the way the river looks."
Toxins still present
The stretch of the river between Warren and Lowellville has a "contact ban." That cautions the public against coming into contact with the river sediments because of the thousands of pounds of toxins that were poured into the river each day by the mills. Those toxins still lie in the sediment on the river bottom. A cleanup effort is being planned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. EPA, YSU professionals and the Mahoning River Consortium.
Rachel thinks that with dedication, the river can be restored.
"If we try hard to make the river clean, we can go from one side [of the poster] to the other," Rachel said, in reference to her drawing, which moves from a polluted side of the river to a nonpolluted side.
She's not the only one who thinks that outcome is possible -- Girard, Youngstown and Campbell local school districts, the Mahoning River Consortium, Earth Force, General Motors, YSU departments and numerous agencies have also teamed up for the project.
Burnett is satisfied with what the younger generation is being taught about their local environment.
"Now they're moving in a direction to do community service and educate the adult population," Burnett said.
vschutz@vindy.com