‘See Snow? Drive Slow!’ warns winning plow

Those familiar with the entrance to Meteor Way off School Road in Bridgewater Township can immediately identify the artwork appearing on a PennDOT plow truck.

The “See Snow? Drive Slow!” plow was entered by Montrose Area art students in PennDOT’s second annual Paint the Plow competition.

The theme was one of three suggested by PennDOT. The other themes included: “Know Before You Go,” and “Don’t Crowd the Plow.”

This was the first year Montrose Area participated in the PennDOT District 4 competition and earned top honors among Susquehanna County schools. North Pocono High School received the District 4 “Fan Favorite” award based on the number of “likes” it received on Facebook during the voting period.

Altogether, 14 school districts in Susquehanna, Wyoming and Pike counties took part in the contest.

District 4’s Paint the Plow Coordinator Angela Miller along with PennDOT’s Susquehanna County Manager Brian Small were on-hand Thursday, Dec. 19, to present a plaque to Montrose Area teachers Kate Luvender and Jan Flaherty and students involved in the project.

Art students in grades 9-12 worked on the project, but the idea stemmed from the Art 3 class. After brainstorming ideas, the students settled on Abi Jennings’ concept of a scene depicting the view from a driver’s window and seeing Meteor Way.

Schools signed up to compete in the annual contest in the spring. Plows were delivered to the schools in the fall and from there, students set to work designing and painting.

Painting was done outside, and the large number of days with inclement weather this fall set the students behind schedule. The deadline extended one week to give the participating districts time to finish up their projects.

Miller said the PennDOT tries to use the participating school’s plows on routes near the campus so students can see their entries at work.