FARMINGTON – More than 110 posters were entered in the Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District’s annual conservation poster contest. The 2008 contest theme is “Water is Life.”

The contest was open to all Franklin County students in grades kindergarten to 12. This year posters were submitted through schools, 4-H clubs and individuals. The contest is designed to help participants learn about the annual theme, to encourage individuality and to weave the theme into the design of their poster.

First-place district winners received a $50 savings bond; second- and third-place, a certificate for a flowering bush through the district’s shrub program. The top three winners in each division were entered in the Maine Association of Conservation Districts contest. First-place winners in each division will then move onto the national National Association of Conservation Districts contest.

The 2008 winners were as follows: Division 1, Tiersa Shively, grade one, home schooled, first; Drew Jeselskis, grade one, Jay Elementary, second; and Caleb Hodsdon, grade one, Cushing Elementary, third.

Division 2, Chloe Venter, grade two, home schooled, first; Aricka Corson, grade three, and Nathaniel Paul Stephen Blauvelt, grade two, both of the W.G. Mallett School, tied for second.

Division 3, Kyle Tracy, grade five, Cascade Brook, first; Roland Venter, grade six, second, and Naomi Venter, grade four, third, both home schooled.

Division 4, Ryan J. Rouillard, grade seven, first; Branden Thompson, grade seven, second, both of Mt. Blue Middle School; and Melanie Erin Robitaille, grade seven, third, Jay Middle School.

Division 5, Marjorie Hardy, grade 11, first; Rhoni-Sue Clark, grade 10, second; and Jodi Harden, grade 10, third, all of Mt. Blue High School.

Local artists who donated their time to judge the contest were Stan Keirstead, Joyce Dubay, Kay Seafeldt and Mary Beth Morrison.

The district’s mission is to address the conservation of natural resources for all residents by providing technical assistance and educational programs.

For more information about the contest or the Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District, call 778-4279 or e-mail [email protected].