Sixth grader Brooke Herschberger placed second in the city's If I Were Mayor essay contest. She and two other finalists read their essays to the Goshen City Council at their May 20 meeting.

Following is the text of her essay:

"If I were mayor, I would make more bike paths that ran all through town. Then people could bike and walk to different places. If we had more bike paths, there wouldn't be so much gas used for cars. We wouldn't have to worry about pollution as much either.

I would also make the traffic signs clearer. Like at an intersection where there are lots of cars going every way. There would be specific signs that would tell you exactly where you could and couldn't go. Then, there would be fewer accidents.

Lighting is another problem I would fix. We have a lot of light bulbs that use a lot of energy. I would use fluorescent lights to light up all the buildings. For houses, we could put more skylights in them, so that during the daytime, you could still see by daylight.

I would also begin some activities that kids and teenagers could do when they're bored. I would initiate sports, clubs, camps, and other fun things. There might be less gang violence going on, because they can have something to do.

Encourging different ethnic groups to interact together is something I would do. I would organize diversity circles with two of each ethnic group. Then, people would get along better with different kinds of people. I think the people would really enjoy getting to know different personalities. Being a mayor would be a fun experience, but would also be tough.