Want snow? Look for Fulton High School’s artwork on a TDOT snowplow this winter

Knoxvillians love snow. There is no doubt about it. That little spark of panic that local meteorologists can produce by simply mentioning a dusting has us buying all the bread and milk Mr. Weigel can muster. I never believed that our panic came from fear, but rather from excitement. Why else do we continue to talk in grandiose terms about the Blizzard of 1993 or the 9 inches we received in January?

Here, our snowfall rarely does more than cover the grass. That’s why, unlike in some more northern climates, it makes sense to paint pictures of snow on our dry plows.

On Nov. 8, Fulton High School students showed off their work to television cameras and a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Students would sometimes skip the first class and stay after school to transform this utilitarian object into a work of art.

“We wanted it to have something to do with our school and snow,” said Fulton student Mars Pollard. “We alternated days. Sometimes we would work on it during the first period depending on what class we had and whether we could skip it or not. Some of us worked there after school. Another student, Lake Marler, said painting the plow “took about a week.”

Mark Nagi, TDOT regional communications manager, explained that “this is something we’ve done across the state, but this is the first time we’ve done it in Region 1, which is our region of 21 East Tennessee Counties.” He added, “We are really pleased with our collaboration with the students here at Fulton. They have done a wonderful job on this plow and we plan to expand the program and offer more at different high schools in the area.

This particular plow, which depicts a truck carrying balloon letters reading “FULTON,” will be deployed on North Broadway. “At least we will have one of the plows that will be really nice,” Nagi said. The new addition to TDOT’s fleet is expected to make an appearance at the WIVK Christmas Parade on Dec. 6 on Gay Street.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Fulton High School deploys student-painted TDOT snowplow