From staff reports
East Forest High School students have been partnering with PennDOT to give the interior of PennDOT’s Marienville maintenance facility a functional facelift.
Students from the school’s advanced art class have visited the facility periodically over the past two months to work on a mural depicting the roadway system in Forest County.
When weather permitted, PennDOT employees stationed at the Marienville location have been sprucing up the building. The map painted by the students on one of the walls is the main feature of the freshened-up look.
Longtime PennDOT employee Tom Kahle, foreman at the Marienville facility, coordinated the work completed by his colleagues as well as the endeavor with Forest Area School District art teacher Michelle Mazur.
Student artists involved in the project included Taylor Andrews, Jessica DiGiacomo, Angelina Harp, Jarrett Kahle, Tessa Korchak, Harley McCullough, Eoghan Montgomery, Catherine Rossey, Thomas Rossey, Hannah Settnek, and Cheyenna Swartz.
“The crew really worked hard at organizing and cleaning up the facility, and the kids did a great job on the map. It turned out really nice,” Kahle said.
The artwork will be functional as well, playing into the goal of increasing efficiency through the overall project. A piece of Plexiglas will be mounted in front of the map and allow supervisors at the facility to use the painting for new employee training and work scheduling.
“We just wanted to give the kids something to be proud of,” Kahle said. “The crew really worked hard at organizing and cleaning up the facility, and the kids did a great job on the map,” he added.
The map represents the second time this school year that PennDOT and East Forest art students have collaborated. In the fall, the students were honored with a Judge’s Pick award through the Paint the Plow program.
The plow, which is being used this winter to maintain roadways in Forest County, features the school mascot, a bear, watching through a wintry scene.