Selah student wins DOT contest for best billboard
http://www.selahnews.com/articles/248/1/Selah-student-wins-DOT-contest-for-best-billboard/Page1.html
Selah Staff
By Selah Staff
Published on 06/11/2008
A Selah fifth grader, Vinny Napolitano, was honored June 3 for his
depiction of a wildlife crossing, a part of the Washington State
Department of Transportation I-90 project.
Pictured: Selah resident, Vinny Napolitano, a fifth grader at Christa McAuliffe Academy, drew his rendition of a wildlife crossing for a DOT billboard contest. His drawing was made into a billboard to be displayed in Seattle and Ellensburg. Photo courtesy Washington StateDepartment of Transportation.
Pictured: Selah resident, Vinny Napolitano, a fifth grader at Christa McAuliffe Academy, drew his rendition of a wildlife crossing for a DOT billboard contest. His drawing was made into a billboard to be displayed in Seattle and Ellensburg. Photo courtesy Washington StateDepartment of Transportation.
A Selah fifth grader, Vinny Napolitano, was honored June 3 for his depiction of a wildlife crossing, a part of the Washington State Department of Transportation I-90 project.
Napolitano, and East side winner, Signe Stroming, a fifth grader from Maple Hills Elementary School in Issaquah, participated in the fourth annual Bridging Futures Art and Essay Contest along with students from around the state. The ceremony took place in Cle Elum at the Suncadia Resort during a reception for a national wildlife crossings conference hosted by the Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project.
The two contest finalists were honored during the ceremony by Bridges Coalition director Charlie Raines, I-90 project director Brian White, and representatives from Senator Patty Murray’s office.
Summer Derrey, Communications spokesperson with the WSDOT I-90 project, said the contest was designed to educate students about the importance of wildlife crossings.
“It’s a great way to promote the I-90 project,” Derrey said.
The $545 million project, funded from gas taxes, will be underway next year when detour bridges will be constructed. The project will take five years to complete.
The current project is designed to mitigate avalanche and rockfall hazards on the I-90 corridor between Hyak and Keechelus Dam, realign curves to minimize accident danger, replace old pavement, and create under and over wildlife crossings that will re-connect habitat in the Central Cascades, minimizing accident danger from animals crossing the freeway.
Another unfunded portion of the I-90 from Keechelus to Easton is under review for future road improvements and wildlife crossings.
“I-90 is the backbone of Washington State’s economic and recreational vitality,” White said. “From transporting our state’s agricultural goods to accessing Washington’s numerous recreational activities, I-90 plays a role in the lives of all citizens. We must encourage our youth to understand the importance of this Interstate to our daily lives and its importance to the safety of both humans and wildlife.”
The Bridging Futures contest, co-sponsored by WSDOT and the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition, called upon Washington state students to create drawings and essays depicting wildlife bridges ––an essential part of the WSDOT I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East project (I-90 project)––to bring attention to human and wildlife safety along I-90.
Students ranging in age from six to 11 participated in the contest from schools and organizations in Seattle, Issaquah, Renton, Enumclaw, Buckley, Auburn, Yakima, Selah, Moxee, Cowiche, Wapato, Harrah, Tieton, Naches, East Valley, Union Gap, and Spokane.
The winners’ art will be displayed on billboards in Seattle and Ellensburg, sharing the message of safety with motorists across the state. The billboards will run until June 29 in Seattle on Dearborn Street and in Ellensburg off of I-90.
Napolitano, and East side winner, Signe Stroming, a fifth grader from Maple Hills Elementary School in Issaquah, participated in the fourth annual Bridging Futures Art and Essay Contest along with students from around the state. The ceremony took place in Cle Elum at the Suncadia Resort during a reception for a national wildlife crossings conference hosted by the Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project.
The two contest finalists were honored during the ceremony by Bridges Coalition director Charlie Raines, I-90 project director Brian White, and representatives from Senator Patty Murray’s office.
Summer Derrey, Communications spokesperson with the WSDOT I-90 project, said the contest was designed to educate students about the importance of wildlife crossings.
“It’s a great way to promote the I-90 project,” Derrey said.
The $545 million project, funded from gas taxes, will be underway next year when detour bridges will be constructed. The project will take five years to complete.
The current project is designed to mitigate avalanche and rockfall hazards on the I-90 corridor between Hyak and Keechelus Dam, realign curves to minimize accident danger, replace old pavement, and create under and over wildlife crossings that will re-connect habitat in the Central Cascades, minimizing accident danger from animals crossing the freeway.
Another unfunded portion of the I-90 from Keechelus to Easton is under review for future road improvements and wildlife crossings.
“I-90 is the backbone of Washington State’s economic and recreational vitality,” White said. “From transporting our state’s agricultural goods to accessing Washington’s numerous recreational activities, I-90 plays a role in the lives of all citizens. We must encourage our youth to understand the importance of this Interstate to our daily lives and its importance to the safety of both humans and wildlife.”
The Bridging Futures contest, co-sponsored by WSDOT and the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition, called upon Washington state students to create drawings and essays depicting wildlife bridges ––an essential part of the WSDOT I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East project (I-90 project)––to bring attention to human and wildlife safety along I-90.
Students ranging in age from six to 11 participated in the contest from schools and organizations in Seattle, Issaquah, Renton, Enumclaw, Buckley, Auburn, Yakima, Selah, Moxee, Cowiche, Wapato, Harrah, Tieton, Naches, East Valley, Union Gap, and Spokane.
The winners’ art will be displayed on billboards in Seattle and Ellensburg, sharing the message of safety with motorists across the state. The billboards will run until June 29 in Seattle on Dearborn Street and in Ellensburg off of I-90.