Swim with friends. Never stand in a canoe. Stay out of the water in a storm. And always, always wear a life jacket when boating or swimming in a lake or river.
That’s the advice of some of the prizewinning entries in PPL Montana’s fall water-safety poster contest. And it’s advice that can save lives in a state where drowning surpasses all other causes of death among children ages 14 and under.
“We were pleased to get so many wonderful and creative posters from students across Montana,” said Lisa Perry, PPL Montana’s Community Affairs manager. “We appreciate their creativity, and we thank the teachers who used this activity to convey potentially life-saving lessons to students.”
More than 280 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders from Montana schools responded to PPL’s call for poster entries. Three prizewinners were selected from each grade level and will be featured in a special 2006 calendar that will be distributed to schools, community leaders and PPL Montana facilities.
Each grand-prize winner will be awarded a certificate and two shares of stock in PPL Corporation, each runner-up will receive a certificate and one share of stock, and each honorable-mention recipient will receive a certificate. All participants will receive a special thank you from PPL Montana.
The three grand-prize winners are:
• Sarah Ramsbacher, third grade, Chief Charlo Elementary School, Missoula
• Sienna Ballard, fourth grade, Whittier Elementary School, Great Falls
• Lexie LeProwse, fifth grade, Emerson Elementary School, Butte
The runners-up are:
• Lindy Friday, third grade, Cherry Valley Elementary School, Polson
• Dylan McCrumb, fourth grade, Cherry Valley Elementary School, Polson
• Kari Tirrell, fifth grade, Cold Springs Elementary School, Missoula
The honorable-mention recipients are:
• Shelby Fromm, third grade, Chief Charlo Elementary School, Missoula
• Lane Haskell, fourth grade, Holy Spirit Catholic School, Great Falls
• Melissa Schaefer, fifth grade, Billings Christian School, Billings
The teachers of the grand-prize winners will each receive $50 for instructional materials and supplies. They are Yvonne Anderson of Chief Charlo Elementary School, Missoula; Cindy Schroer of Whittier Elementary School, Great Falls; and Clara Hartz of Emerson Elementary School, Butte.
“Our hope is that the students’ work and the new PPL Montana water-safety calendar will raise awareness and remind children and others to stay safe when enjoying Montana’s lakes, rivers and streams,” Perry said.
PPL Montana, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), has electric generating facilities throughout the state with a combined generating capacity of about 1,200 megawatts. PPL Montana has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena and employs 500 people. The company operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric power plants along Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. PPL EnergyPlus, another PPL subsidiary, operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale energy market. More information about the company is available at www.pplmontana.com.
View 2006 calendar.