Evans City to introduce new welcome signs designed by Vo-Tech students
EVANS CITY — Later this year, visitors to the borough will be welcomed by three brand-new welcome signs designed by students from the Butler County Vocational-Technical School.
The idea was first mentioned publicly at a borough council meeting in July 2023, and the council approved the three proposed designs for the new welcome signs at the monthly meeting on Monday night, July 1.
The signs are the result of a year’s worth of work by the three Butler County Vo-Tech students from the school’s graphic arts department who stepped up to the challenge during the last school year. Each of the three students — Zoe Coffey, Bethany Scuticchio, and Madison Smith — submitted a different design for a welcome sign.
“They gave us a sales pitch ... like, ‘This is what I did, this is why we did it, this is what I was looking to enhance for your town.’ Just like they would do if they walked into a job and they had to do it,” said borough council president Cheri Deener-Kohan. “We gave them some feedback as to some of the things we'd like to see in it.”
According to Deener-Kohan, the borough will use each of the three sign designs at a different location throughout Evans City.
“They were all excellent, and since our entrances are diverse in size and topography, we decided that we would like one at each entrance,” Deener-Kohan said.
Deener-Kohan said the borough is looking to install the signs one at a time. The three signs generally share some elements in common, including trains or train tracks, oil derricks, and zombies. These are a reference to Evans City’s legacy of oil production and its history as the filming location for the 1968 movie “The Night of the Living Dead.”
Not only did the trio bring their designs before the board, but they submitted them as scale models at the SkillsUSA Pennsylvania State Leadership and Skills Conference in Hershey on April 5. For their efforts, the group took first place in the Career Pathways Showcase — Arts & Communication category.
Plans are for the first sign to be placed near the now-closed Evans City Elementary School on West Main Street. The others will go near Skander Tire & Auto Service on Evans City Road, and a third will go on Mars/Evans City Road.
In addition to designing the signs through its graphic arts department, the Vo-Tech school will play a hand in building them through its construction department.
“Thoughts are that one will be constructed per year,” Deener-Kohan said.
