Five Port Colborne schools successfully completed their SnowPORTant Mission

In mid-October city staff asked local elementary schools to help them with a SnowPORTant Mission: to cheer up our snowplows as they prepare for a long, cold, and snowy winter ahead by painting them.

 Five elementary schools accepted the mission: St. Therese Catholic Elementary School, Oakwood Public School, St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School, DeWitt Carter Public School, and École Elementaire Catholic Saint. Joseph. Students were asked to paint original artwork on the plows with a theme: school pride.

 “We knew these past 18 months have been a challenge for our school community and we wanted to provide them with an opportunity to PORTicipate with their classmates, while using their creativity and artistic talents,” said Tim Anderson, fleet supervisor and coordinator of the inaugural Paint a Plow program.

On Monday, Nov. 8, after all the plows were painted and returned to the Public Works yard, Mayor Steele was tasked with choosing his favourite plow, which was DeWitt Carter’s ‘Snow Breathing Dragon’.

“DeWitt Carter’s plow immediately caught my attention,” said Mayor Steele. “They did a great job incorporating their school pride and mascot, the Dragon. I’m only looking forward to the first snowfall so I can see the Snow Breathing Dragon in action.”

The Snow Breathing Dragon will be on display at the city’s upcoming Reverse Lighted Santa Claus Parade at H.H. Knoll Lakeview Park on Saturday, Dec. 4, starting at 6:30 p.m.

The runner-up, chosen by Mayor Steele, was St. Patrick. “Their snowplow incorporated inspirational messages to our snowplow operators that included “keep plowin’ through”, and “you are important”. On those long, cold days, our operators are really going to appreciate those messages,” commented Mayor Steele.

Port Paint and Paper partnered with the city on this initiative, providing schools the paint and paint brushes required to complete their mission.

This winter, be sure to keep an eye out on city streets for these newly painted plows, including the Snow Breathing Dragon!

For more information about winter control operations in Port Colborne, visit https://portcolborne.ca/en/living-here/winter-control.aspx.  

To subscribe to news updates delivered to your email inbox, including our SnowPORTant updates, visit www.portcolborne.ca/news.