Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
Signs based on fire safety posters painted by three local grade school artists are being placed along local main roads leading into the forest.
The winning entries were chosen from approximately 300 students in third through fifth grades from Sweet Home schools who participated in the 2007 Fire Prevention Poster Contest sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Forestry. The three grand prize winners’ posters were converted into billboards by Sweet Home High School art students Jonathan Westfall, Kelsey Agee and Nathanial Goodwin.
Grand prize winners were:
– Teira Moore, a fifth-grader from Foster School, who painted a poster showing well-managed campfire next to a tent and the words “Help Save a Day – Put Out Your Fire!” Her billboard will be displayed just past the entrance to Sunnyside Park on Quartzville Road.
“Animals that live in the forest, they need help,” Teira said. “We help save their day by putting out matches and not throwing down cigarettes.”
– Jade Smith, a fourth-grader from Hawthorne School, whose poster showed wild animals standing in the woods and the words “Wildlife is hot. Fire is not.” Her billboard will be displayed about three miles up Upper Calapooia Road from Highway 228.
Jade said she wanted her poster to show that “wildlife needs to be preserved because all the wildlife in the forest will become extinct if you burn down the forest.”
She also noted that, on the reproduction of her poster, “that bear-like animal is supposed to be a deer.”
– Kaitlyn Watts, a fifth-grader from Oak Heights School, whose poster depicted a raging wildfire and the words “Don’t Blame The Fire. Blame Yourself!” Her billboard will be displayed on Highway 20 across from The Point restaurant.
Kaitlyn said she wanted to remind people to be responsible with fires they start and to make sure that fires are completely extinguished.
“They don’t think about the fact that they’ve set the fire,” she said. “I’m trying to say ‘Don’t blame the fire at all. Blame themselves’ (for forest fires).”
In addition to having their billboards displayed, the three are invited to ride on the float sponsored by the two forestry agencies during the Sportsman’s Holiday Parade on July 14.
Winners, by school and class, were:
Crawfordsville (Dan Swanson’s class): (1) Elizabeth Buller (2) Maya Van Epps (3) Josh Mabe.
East Linn Christian (Kim Bates’ class): (1) Nikki Blackwell (2) Sierra Giddings (3) Kourtney Pelkey.
Foster (Michelle Fournier’s class): (1) Kourtney Dixon (2) Cathy Cheshire (3) Carl Steinborn.
Foster (Angie Yon’s class): (1) Johnie I Subell (2) Joe Fern (3) Justin Casciano.
Foster (Cathy Hawken’s class): (1) Teira Moore (2) Harlee Brendle.
Hawthorne (Joyce Baugus’ class): (1) Jade Smith (2) Sierrah Owen (3) Bailey Speck.
Hawthorne (Jayme Zwierzyna’s class): (1) Karlee Long (2) Karson Rodgers (3) Brandon Jones.
Oak Heights (Cynthia Davis’ class): (1) Aurora Sherwood (2) Elise Holden (3) Eric Flier.
Oak Heights (Jerika Spencer’s class): (1) Kaitlyn Watts (2) Amelia Medina-Zavala (3) Kristin Albright.