Winners in the Fire Prevention Poster Contest are, from left, Principal Hope Hull of Connoquenessing Elementary, the school that garnered the traveling trophy; McQuistion Elementary second-grader Arianna Leech; Connoquenessing Elementary fourth-grader Ada Cousins; Connoquenessing Elementary first-grader Collins Kramer; McQuistion Elementary third-grader Paige Singer; and Connoquenessing Elementary kindergartner Allison Shick.

Posters depicting firefighting gear, equipment and philosophy covered the windows that typically look into the Butler Township Commissioners Chamber at Monday night's meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, commissioners called up each of the five winners of the eighth annual Fire Prevention Poster Contest. They took a photo with Commissioner Jim Lokhaiser and Sparky, the fire prevention mascot.

Lokhaiser said the contest tasks students from all of the township's elementary schools to create a poster that shows the key ideas of fire prevention.

Chris Singer, father of winner Paige Singer, said his daughter, who is a third-grader at McQuistion Elementary, worked hard on the project, and he liked the idea of getting children involved in their communities at an early age.

“She did all the drawing by herself and just started coloring away at it,” he said. “She was ecstatic when she found out about winning.”

A child from each grade was selected as a winner, in the contest, and this year Connoquenessing Elementary won the traveling trophy for the first time. The traveling trophy is awarded annually to the school with the most participants.

Hope Hull, principal of Connoquenessing Elementary, said winning the traveling award was a bright spot for their school this year.

“It means a lot to them this year. They worked hard this year,” Hull said. “This is a supplemental program that enhances our instruction and helps them become a more well-rounded learner.”

Commissioner Fred Vero said all of the posters looked good this year.

“It was really a tough decision on grading them,” Vero said. “I congratulate all of them.”

Shortly before beginning with their regular meeting, board chairman Dave Zarnick commended the children, schools and commissioners on another good contest.

“This is one of the highlights of the commissioners every year,” he said.

During the meeting, the commissioners agreed to sell four township vehicles to the highest bidder. Holbein, a general contractor in Sarver, won all four vehicles.

All four bids equaled $24,150, with Holbein bidding $6,575 for each of the two dump trucks, a 1999 GMC Top Kick and 2000 GMC Top Kick, and $5,500 for each of the two Ford Explorers.

The commissioners also approved to extend the timeframe for two different developments. According to township zoning officer Jesse Hines, the act was more of a formality as both developments had been approved in July.

The Autumn Woods residential development has plans to develop a 35-acre property with 23 quad buildings with four condominiums, forming a community just off Meridian Road between Winterwood Drive and Fontana Street.

Hines said the developer has plans to begin construction in the spring.

The Benevan Square commercial development has plans to subdivide a 2.85-acre lot, allowing for three new businesses to occupy the space. At the July meeting, Benevan Square officials told the commissioners they were finalizing tenant agreements with Dairy Queen, Chipotle Mexican Grill and a Valvoline Instant Oil Change.

Hines said work may begin soon for Benevan Square, but he did not have a definitive start date.