Troy boy wins art contest

TROY - A Troy third grader soared above the competition in the PennDOT Bureau of Aviation's Aviation Art Contest.

During a ceremony at the Allen F. Pierce Free Library in Troy Friday morning, Connor Simpson was recognized by PennDOT and presented a certificate of achievement, signed by the transportation secretary, for being a winner in the contest. His entry was selected from nearly 1,000 entries around the state.

Simpson, 9, a home-schooled student in the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School and the son of Valerie and Fred Simpson, was a division winner in the PennDOT's Bureau of Aviation's Aviation Art Contest.

He received a mounted, 16-by-20-inch copy of his entry, and his school will also receive a mounted copy of the artwork for display.

The contest's theme was "The History of Flight," and entries were judged in two divisions: first through third grades, and fourth and fifth grades. One winner was chosen from each division in each of PennDOT's 11 district offices, with the exception of District 9, which received entries in only one division.

Connor won in the grades 1-3 division in PennDOT's District 3-0, which covers nine north central Pennsylvania counties, including Bradford County. In the grades four and five division in District 3-0, Grace Wozniak of L.R. Appleman Elementary, Columbia County was the winner.

Sue Wolfe, librarian at the Allen F. Pierce Free Library in Troy, said Connor's artwork will be placed on the wall in the library.

"I think it's really excellent," his teacher, Cathy Liggett of Montrose, said. "You can tell he spent a lot of time working on it."

The elementary student said he used colored pencils for the drawing, "It was one of my best," he said.

The artwork has the words, "The History of Flight," and features a biplane, a hot air balloon, a helicopter and a glider.

Though he wasn't surprised about winning, his mom and brother were. She said the contest was perfect for her son because it featured his interests, history and drawing mechanical things. "The biplane was a lot of fun for him."

Those on hand from PennDOT were Rick Mason and Sandy Tosca, PennDOT District Executive, who spoke during the ceremony.

"Connor is being home-schooled, and is one of two statewide winners from virtual charter schools this year," she said. "I'm sure Connor's mom, Valerie, and dad, Fred, are very proud of his artistic achievement, as well as his 12-year-old sister, Emma, and 6-year-old brother, Jackson."

"We hope the contest has helped students statewide recognize how important aviation is to Pennsylvania, and maybe even inspire them to look more closely at a field that employs 288,000 Pennsylvanians," she continued.

"While creating their artwork, students had the opportunity to learn about aviation through class discussion, their parents, or even a visit to their local airport - but mostly, we wanted children to have fun while learning about aviation."

"Art is an important mode of expression for all children, and using it as an educational tool pays dividends in their creative development. Again, we thank all of the students who submitted entries and we say, 'congratulations, well done' to Connor Simpson and our other winners."

Connor's mom said her son learned about the history of aviation through school lessons, noting they coincided with the contest.

Winning entries in the contest were on display in the east wing of the state capitol building in Harrisburg this week.

According to a news release, PennDOT held the contest to give children a chance to express their creativity while learning about the industry and to increase interest in one of the Pennsylvania's vital transportation modes. Pennsylvania currently has 135 public-use airports and heliports and 14 airports offer scheduled commercial service.

"Our congratulations go out to all of our winners," PennDOT Secretary Allen D. Biehler, P.E. said in the news release. "I am pleased that more than 1,000 students expressed interest in the contest and learned about the importance of the aviation industry in the process."

Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.

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