Students create art to help promote winter safety

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation brought its Paint the Plow event to Schuylkill County for the first time this school year.

Six high schools in Schuylkill and Carbon counties participated in the event, the aim of which is to raise awareness of safety issues involving winter driving and sharing the roads with PennDOT snowplows.

PennDOT spokesman Sean Brown said the program was started several years ago, but this year is the first time the department brought it to Schuylkill County.

“It’s a great way to get a safety message out to the community while giving kids a way to be creative,” said Brown.

The plows were delivered to the schools in early September and picked up last month.

Kim Woodward, art teacher at Tamaqua Area High School, enthusiastically took on the project with her students.

“Art is very private and individual, so it was nice to see it in public.”

Woodward said a total of 16 students were involved in painting the plow. She credited sophomore Leah Mateyak with the dragon design.

“Leah loves dragons,” Woodward said.

The project presented its share of challenges for Woodward and her class. The plow had to be kept outside, so Woodward and her students had to contend with the weather and bees. It was also the first time that she or her students used enamel paint.

“I called some schools in the Pittsburgh area for some advice and to get an idea what they did.”

The plows were judged by a handful of individuals, whose evaluations were submitted privately to PennDOT.

High schools competing in this category are Weatherly Area, Mahanoy Area, North Schuylkill, Pine Grove Area, Shenandoah Valley and Tamaqua Area.

The public can vote for their favorite plow via the PennDOT Facebook page.