SCOTT CITY YOUTHS TO RAISE MONEY FOR NEW CITY SIGNS

SCOTT CITY -- About 25 civic-minded Scott City High School students, led by a former beauty queen, are trying to raise money for new "welcome" signs to their city.

Nicole Wadlington, a senior at Scott City High School, has organized a student force to set up "roadblocks" in Scott City Saturday to collect money to erect new signs welcoming people to the city.

The paint on the old signs is chipped and cracked from withstanding several seasons of elemental brutality.

"The signs really are in bad shape," said Shirley Young, president of the Scott City Chamber of Commerce.

The Scott City Chamber of Commerce has been tossing the idea of replacing the signs around for years, half-heartedly collecting donations to purchase replacements.

But when Wadlington came forward and offered to help collect the money, the city kicked the effort into full gear.

"We are very excited to have the youth of the city involved with this project," said Edith Davidson, vice president of the chamber. "It's just so wonderful to see young people care about their city and want to help to make it more beautiful."

Wadlington said that she first got involved with community projects two years ago when she was in the Miss Missouri Teen Pageant.

"To be in the pageant, you had to perform at least 12 hours of community service," Wadlington said. To make herself eligible for the beauty contest, she got involved in the city's tree-planting effort in spring 1991. Organizers planned to plant 450 trees around the city; they ended up planting 750.

So when Wadlington heard that the city was trying to replace its welcome signs, she started a letter-writing campaign within her school, which led to the volunteer services of the other students.

"I wrote letters that were read in the English classes of all the students in the high school," Wadlington said. "We had a sign-up sheet and were real happy that so many people wanted to help."

Scott City High School sophomore Tammy Jenkins helped post signs around the school and junior Carrie Bollinger assisted Wadlington with the organization of the student effort.

The students will stand at busy street corners to collect money from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The Floral Connection is providing balloons to the students to make them readily identifiable to motorists.

"It's going to be a long day, but it's worth it," Wadlington said.

For every dollar the students collect, the donor's name will be entered into a drawing which will be held at the end of the day. The first prize winner will be awarded $100 in meat; second prize, a $75 U.S. savings bond; and third prize, a $50 savings bond.

Young said that all money raised on Saturday will be earmarked for the purchase of new signs.

"We'll see what we collect and then see what we can get with that much money," Young said. "We're all so excited about this."

The Scott City Public Works Department has agreed to take down the old and erect the new signs at no cost. The Sunny Village Garden Club will plant flowers and shrubbery around the base of the new signs when completed.