Gianna Welkey, left, twins Ben, center, and Max Shupp, stand in front of safety posts needing attention. The three painted all 24 posts in 90 minutes with donated materials.
Submitted photo
Max Shupp and his twin brother, Ben, stand by one of the 24 safety posts they, along with Gianna Wilkey, painted in order the improve the community.
Submitted photo
Gianna Wilkey, left, and Max Shupp, both 11-years-old, are shown painting two of the 24 safety posts that line Macey Street in Duryea.
Submitted photo
Eleven-year-old Ben Shupp is busy painting a safety post on Marcy Street, Duryea, in order to spruce them up.
Submitted photo
DURYEA – Eleven-year-old twins Max and Ben Shupp walked each day to school along Marcy Street only to notice how the safety posts needed a major update, so the Shupp family solicited Duryea Council to get permission to paint them.
Today, the posts are vibrant and colorful thanks to efforts of Max, Ben and classmate 11-year-old Gianna Welkey.
Once approved by council, Ben, Max, and their parents Ryan and Stephanie sought out donations from local merchants for paint and other supplies to get all 24 posts painted.
In the letter addressed to council by the Shupp family said, “Our intent will appeal to the civic spirit and commitment to the public good that animates your service to Duryea.”
“We live down the street where the posts are and when they walk past the post every day, you tend to notice them more than when you’re driving by them,” Stephanie Shupp, mother of the twins, said. “They decided they wanted to freshen them up a bit by painting them.”
On Sept. 24, all three children and dad Ryan began painting the posts. Ninety-minutes later, the job was finished.
“The boys mentioned the job to their friend Gianna at school that day that’s what they were going to do after school,” Stephanie Shupp said. “After she got changed, the three of them went and painted the posts.”
“At one point the posts looked good but then they faded and I felt that it just made it a little gloomy and so we painted them and now they look brighter,” Ben said.
Ben’s brother Max was happy with the finished project.
“If no one painted them maybe cars would not see them and crash into them,” Ben added.
Dad Ryan supervised the job and touched up each post that needed to be touched up.
“It feels really good,” Max said, when he walks pasts the posts now.
“I think they look joyful and brighter,” Ben said.
Both brothers were satisfied with the project and happy their friend Gianna could also help. The Shupp brothers could see them doing future community projects.
“I’m very proud of them, and you can tell it was something they enjoyed doing,” Stephanie Shupp said. “We didn’t have to pressure them to do it or encourage them to do it. Hopefully they will able be to spot (places) like that around town and other places throughout life that could use some improvement and kind of take it upon themselves to make it better.”
The Shupp brothers will be recognized at the December Duryea Borough Council meeting.
