Welcome Sign Flowers Get Spruced Up

The welcome sign for Washington state is made up almost entirely of flowers. This weekend volunteers and workers from the Washington State Department of Transportation put in some extra time to spruce things up a little.

Volunteers put this sign together about two years ago, until recently when an unknown person decided to chop it apart. About two hours of planting petunias and geraniums was needed to patch things up.

Roadside maintenance supervisor Bill VanAntwerp said, “It’s a great example of how volunteers can help in the community. This is the entrance to the state everyone’s coming up I-5.”

The sign and a shrub-lined flower bed shaped like Washington, were created by an employee at the maintenance office. Each year a new and inventive design was thought up, but with a lack of funding the flowers were neglected.

Extreme weather and a tighter budget saw money being focused on snow plowing and routine maintenance. VanAntwerp added, “We just can’t justify spending a boatload of money here when there’s potholes on the main line and safety features to fix.”

This is where volunteer work comes in handy and is of great value in keeping the flowers blooming.

[Via: columbian.com]

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