Safe
from pttife /I I
with a goal of bringing
all the grades back together
on the same campus in Fall
2015. i
Lowrance Middle
moved to Atkins High
School, a countywide mag
net high school with a
STEM focus.
For the 2015-2016
school year, Hanes Middle
will be housed at the for
mer Hill Middle School
and Lowrance will stay at
Atkins High School.
Documents made pub
lic by WS/FCS state that
the school system became
aware of possible contami
nation beneath the schools
in 1995, when Kaba Ilco
asked to install under
ground monitoring wells
on the property.
The system placed
emphasis on the fact that
drinking water was not
affected because the
schools are served by a
public water supply not
drawn to the groundwater.
Indoor air quality tests
have also been done since
2005. Studies found that
there were elevated levels
in roughly three classrooms
in 2006.
The air inside Hanes
and Lowrance schools was
tested in May 2014 after
Kaba Ilco and WS/FCS
discussed installing a reme
diation system on the
Hanes/Lowrance property
and the possibility of
WS/FCS building on the
site. Those levels, analyzed
by engineering firm
S&ME, were found to be
"below the applicable stan
dards, and generally less
than or equal to the prior
tests results."
"I spent a lot of time
talking with DENR, both in
Winston-Salem and
Raleigh ... two people from
Piedmont Geological, and
I've since talked to several
environmental engineers
and nobody supports clos
ing the school in the scien
tific community. Given that
it was a STEM school, I
would especially hope that
we pay attention to scien
tific data to drive our deci
sion," Motsinger quipped.
She went on to say that
there are 93 sites like this in
Forsyth County that are on
the inactive hazardous
waste site list and that
Hanes/Lowrance is not one
of them. She said that she
feels the problem could
have been fixed with edu
cation, without the "sensa
tionalism of the Winston
Salem Journal and parents
who did not live in the
neighborhood."
'To me, the public real
ly needs to understand that
all of the urban counties in
the state have some of this
contamination as a legacy.
We used to not test, we
used to not have NC DENR
and the EPA, and regula
tions that said what you can
and can't test. So when
people were pouring these
chemicals directly in the
dirt, they had no idea what
the consequences would
be. There will be no safe
place for your children if
we poison our water. That's
the big message. All of our
children will be effected by
the environmental choices
we make," Motsinger said.
"There is no danger. It's
about concentration. Some
soil vapor intrusion dissi
pates so fast that there real
ly isn't a danger for kids to
be outside playing in the
playground or in the grass.
It's not that I'm ignoring it.
It's not that I don't care.
The air quality of the build
ing there is no different
than my house, their house,
where you go to work or
where I go to work."
The school board voted
unanimously on March 10
to spend $15.5 million to
build a new Lowrance
Middle School on the cam
pus of Paisley IB Magnet
School. The money will
come from a $42.6 million
request from the Forsyth
County Commissioners foi
building projects.
Board member Vic
Johnson said that he feels
the parents made the deci
sion to close the school
when they stopped sending
their children.
"When over 100 kids 2
day started staying out oi
school, sometimes 180
that's disruptive. They
made a decision that they
would not send their kids,"
he said.
Johnson said that at the
time the school board
didn't know how serious
the problem was or if they
could test, every year. He
said that ultimately deter
mined why the move was
needed, for him.
He said that Motsinger
is allowed her opinion and
he admits he doesn't know
the magnitude of the prob
lem.
"The school is 65 years
old. We can't build any
thing else on the property. I
felt we needed to move the
kids since we had the space
at another school," he said.
"This isn't one of those
right or wrong questions.
My kids went to Lowrance
and Hanes. I imagine if that
situation rose at that point
in time I would want my
kids out of there. We don't
know what the problems
could've been later on.
Safety is the number one
thing I'm concerned about
and I wouldn't bet my life
on it. You just don't know."
Unlike Johnson,
Motsinger maintains that
the children could have
stayed in the school with
out being in danger.
"I would never send our
kids to school if I thought it
was not safe for them to be
there. We didn't close it
(the school) because it was
unsafe. It got closed for
political reasons, but not
for true safety reasons. It
was fear, not reality," she
said. "If I thought that kids
who lived there were
unsafe, then I would be up
in arms about it. The reality
is that those kids don't stop
being our kids just because
they're not in school.
They're our kids 24 hours a
day, seven days a week."
Motsinger said that she
feels that the money spent
on testing, what she esti
mated as $85,000, could
have been better used else
where in the school system.
"To spend that type of
money to move them out of
a safe school when we need
books, we need our kids to
leam how to read and we
have children who are liv
ing in Winston-Salem who
aren't getting their needs
met? That's where I want
our money to go. 1 have to
protect resources to make
that possible for them."
The city's Stormwater
and Erosion Control
department recently
announced their newest
project to measure soil that
may be contaminated. The
city will implement moni
toring wells in the aiea that
will determine how far the
pollutant plum surrounding
Kaba Uco has migrated and
how it impacts surrounding
residents and the city from
28th Street on down.
The company has
signed an agreement with
officials from the state to
implement a plan to treat
the soil and remove the
vapors.
Stormwater Manager
Keith Huff told citizens at a
recent town hall meeting
that the main pollutants
found in the ground were
tetrachloroethene,
trichlorothene and 1 -
Dichloroethene, all com
mon chemicals that can be
found in common house
hold agents. The solvents
are used in dry cleaning,
cleaning of metal machin
ery and to manufacture
consumer products and
chemicals. Those vapors
can come up through the
soil, and in enough concen
trations, can make its way
through a slab in the build
ings. The city will sample
the groundwaters, soil, soil
vapor, surface water and
the drinking water system
in areas south of 28th
Street.
For more information
on a list of sites, visit
http .//portal .ncdenr.brglq/d
ocument_library/get_file?u
uid=bc36cebd'0da 1-4199
b e 4 c
1044a7fl343c&groupld=3
8361.
SPECIAL TO THE
rnpnMy7|f .
Winston-Salem Police
Chief Barry D. Rountree
presented several commen
dation awards to police
department employees on
Friday, April 10 in the
Public Safety Center
Auditorium.
The awards presented
were the 2014 Employee of
the Year, 2014 Officer of
the Year and the Medal of
Merit Award.
*2014 Employee of the
Year - Public Safety
Communication
Supervisor J. F. Koppang
*2014 Officer of the
Year - Police Officer M. P.
Moore
?The Medal of Merit -
Cpl. D. G. Smith and
Officer D. W. Smith
Corporal (Cpl.) D. G.
Smith and Officer D. W.
Smith were awarded the
Medal of Merit for their
actions on January 17,
2015 at 9:04 p.m. involv
ing a traffic accident with
reported injuries.
"fVg Medal of Merit is
awarded when an employ
ee performs in a manner
that exceeded department
standards, and; such act
included some degree of
hazard to the life and limb
of the nominee, and; was
intended to prevent a prob
able loss of life or serious
injury.
Officer M. P. Moore
was awarded Officer of the
Year for his actions on May
4,2014, when Moore saved
a woman's life from a
burning home.
PSCS Julie Koppang
was awarded 2014
Employee of the Year for
her work in helping to
locate a missing person by
acting as a liaison between
police and a cell phone car
rier.
Police Department employees receive commendations
Koppang
Moore
SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOODS
(NORTH OF BETHABARA PARK BLVD.)
Meet with City Council Member
Denise D. Adams to discuss bond projects,
leaf collection and Duke Energy tree
trimming and other topics of interest.
TUESDAY, APRIL 21
6 P.M. - 7:30 P.M.
horthwarocounc^mw1
DENISE D. ADAMS
iS)
Wlnston-Salpm
United Baptist
Church
5815 Murray Road,
Winston-Salem
North Ward City Neighborhoods Meeting - April 30, Hanes Hosiery Recreation center
i/t*
What is Charofter?
The action you take to carry out the values,
-elhics and morals thdl you believe in.
Consistency between what you soy you will
do and what you actually do.
Putting the ethics into action.
Defines, builds, or breaks your reputation.
Moral strength, tt tolces mofal (ourage to do
whot is right when it may cod more than you
ore wilting to pay.
Who you are and what you do when no one is
looking
"Whot is wrong is wrong, even if everyone is
doing it. Right is still right, even if no one
else is doing 'it" - William Penn
Ethics:
Define moral rights and wrongs.
Transcend culture, ethnicity, and are relevant
to all socioeconomic conditions.
Are the should ond ought of life.
Morals:
Are ethical principles
Founded on fundamental principles of right
conduct rather than legalities.
Morals ore always the some. Immorality
varies from generation to generation.
Values:
Refer to all important beliefs.
Mot all ore ethical, some are neutral or non
ethical.
Stated; what we soy, ond Operational; what we
do.
"Character is not reflected by what we soy,
or even by what we intend, it is a reflection
of what we do."-Anonymous
TWIT
To partner witii child core providers, Mies and the
community in order to offer affordable quality early
childhood education for all children, while utilizing
cost effective resources, materials, technology and
qualified personnel.
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Huttute, mich, ym,
NORTHWEST CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTERS, IN(
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HOIIHWEST CHILD DMIQPNEKT CEKTEIS ^
Serving Davie, Forsyth and Stokes Counties
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WSDOWNTOWN
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'Providing quolHy child
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