The Associated Pennsylvania Constructors (APC) and the Pennsylvania Highway Information Association (PHIA) have launched the Highway Work Zone Safety Public Service Announcement (PSA) Writing Competition to expose Pennsylvania high school students to the importance of safe driving practices in work zones.

The competition was advertised to more than 500 public and parochial high schools across Pennsylvania. This competition — the brain child of the association’s safety committee — took a fresh approach to APC’s essay writing competitions of previous years by requiring students to write a 30-second radio spot dealing with some aspect of work zone safety.

The association dubbed the spot, “A Fatal Decision,” and had it professionally recorded and distributed to hundreds of Pennsylvania radio stations to recognize 2006 National Work Zone Awareness Week from April 3 to 9, 2006.

The first, second, and third place winners received checks for $500, $250, and $100, respectively. This year’s first place winner was Sara Bean of Greencastle Antrim High School in Greencastle, PA.

The second and third place winners were Denise Elisio and Rachel Jacobs, both of Nazareth Academy in Philadelphia.

The winning entries were selected by a judging panel that included Tammy Truskey and Bob Roush, Department of Education; Carl DeFebo, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission; Charles Metzger, PennDOT District 6-0; Craig Noll, Protection Services Inc.; and Brian Fraley, APC.

APC also partnered with the Department of Education to create an interdisciplinary unit that could be used by high school teachers to incorporate work zone safety into their curriculums. The unit featured various exercises that required students to engage in written activities after researching work zone safety in preparation for the writing of the PSA.

For more information, call 717/238-2513 or visit www.paconstructors.org.