Snow may be gone for the season, but plows are still on the mind of officials at Ohio Department of Transportation Southern Ohio District 9.
Students at area schools spent part of the last days of school painting plow blades in a contest for bragging rights, and to show off school pride, officials said.
The contest is also an effort to enhance plow awareness and promote safety, officials said. Paint the Plow was first introduced in ODOT’s District 4 last year.
This is the first year for District 9 to sponsor its own program in the eight-county region that includes Adams, Brown, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross and Scioto counties, officials said.
“We believe this is a unique opportunity to promote the talent of our area’s young people, as well as provide a terrific learning experience and help make motorists more aware of ODOT,” said ODOT District 9 Deputy Director Vaughn Wilson.
In addition to being visible when in full service during the winter-weather months, the painted blades will be used at events within the school’s community to increase public awareness, promote safety and foster greater appreciation of both ODOT and the local schools’ art programs.
“We are really pleased with the response we received from the area schools in our inaugural year of the project,” said Wilson. “It is apparent that we have some very talented student artists throughout the area, and we really appreciate their efforts and creativity.”
As part of the district’s program, one plow will be selected from each county to be displayed at its respective county fair, and all schools will be recognized in ODOT’s fair booths this year with a photo display.
The winning plow will be on display at the statewide TeamUp Fair and Roadeo Competition, as well as at the District 9 headquarters in Chillicothe, officials said. With painting done, voting began on June 2.
There are 14 schools in the plowing district, from Scioto to Highland County, including West Union, High School, Manchester High School, North Adams High School and Peebles High School, in Adams County; and Georgetown High School and Fayetteville-Perry High School in Brown County, participating in the contest.
The images can be seen on the Ohio Department of Transportation Southern Ohio District 9 Facebook page. To see the contestants, click on the photo area. A “like” on a particular photo constitutes a vote for the plow design.
Votes will be counted by the number of “likes” a school’s blade receives, and this number -- combined with the score from the Judges’ Pick, will determine the overall, district wide winner.
Voting closes June 29. Sharing the image you vote for increases the chances of it getting more votes, officials said.
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