Third-grader makes her voice heard at City Council
Jesse Hall Elementary School Principal Jeanne Ohl stands with third-grader Kamryn Harrell in front of a mural that depicts the land Kamryn wants to keep as open space. Kamryn drafted a petition against building 2,500 homes on the 600 acres west of the school.
Though it will be a decade before she is able to vote, 8-year-old Kamryn Harrell was acknowledged by the Sparks City Council on Tuesday for using her constitutional rights.
The Jesse Hall Elementary School third-grader was recognized for drafting a petition against building 2,500 homes on a 600-acre area west of her school.
Kamryn’s petition, which had about 60 signatures, was read at a Sparks city council meeting last week before the council voted to rezone the land, to allow for the new construction of a development called Sonoma Highlands.
“I just felt really bad and, like, worried,” Kamryn said. “So, I wrote the petition that my grandma told me I should do.”
Jesse Hall teachers and students signed her petition that read: “We, kids of Jesse Hall, want no buildings behind our school because we want a place for the animals to live.”
Principal Jeanne Ohl said she remains neutral on the rezoning but is proud of Kamryn.
“We just like it when our kids do nice things,” Ohl said.
This article originally appeared in Reno Gazette-Journal.
