New 4-H sign welcomes motorists to Potomac Valley

POTOMAC – There is a new sign on Highway 200 that welcomes motorists to the Potomac Valley as they travel east and wishes them "Happy Trails" as they leave the valley. After the nearly two year permitting process, the Potomac Valley 4-H Club (Club) is excited to not only identify the area as people pass through and welcome them to the community but also make it known there is an active 4-H Club in the Potomac Valley and demonstrate the pride the Club has in their community.

"4-H is entwined in the history of this valley, the presence of the sign will serve as a reminder that the 4-H remains relevant and integral in this community today," wrote Potomac Valley 4-H Leader Allyson Nelson in an email.

While Nelson said the topic of putting up a 4-H "Welcome to Potomac Sign" had come up in side conversations at different times over the years, at their Club meeting in February of 2020, Zeph Schulz and Jenna Schulz volunteered to do some research on pricing for a double sided sign. BBQ and Christmas Gift Wrapping Fundraisers at Murdoch's and donations from community members left the 4-H Club with extra funds. Nelson said the Club wanted to use it to give back to the community and shine a light on Potomac Valley's 4-H presence.  

After compiling some sign concepts, Jenna and her aunt took that inspiration and created the first version of the Welcome sign.  Initially it was designed to be centrally located near Cully's and welcome people on both sides. However, due to limitations on adding new signage within certain distances of existing signage, the Club had to find an alternate location. Club Leader Tiffany Waletzko volunteered to reach out to her neighbor Bob Cheff and see if he and his daughter Brooke and her husband Taylor Hill would allow the sign on their property.

"I have lived on Bear Creek Road in Potomac every day of my life and knew the family to ask," Waletzko wrote in an email. "[The Cheff family] is essentially an institution in the Potomac Valley. Not only that, they are amazingly kind and generous people as well as being generational 4-Hers. They could not be more proud of their home valley and the 4-H way of life." 

Waletzko said the answer was simply, "'Yes. Absolutely. And let us know how we can help?' And they did end up having to do a lot of paperwork. Their help and patience was so much appreciated."

Because the sign was now located on the west end of the Potomac Valley, they changed the design from welcoming people on both sides to welcoming on one side and wishing people well as they left the Valley.

"I wanted the wording to be something kind and thoughtful. I stayed with the western farm and ranch theme and went with "Happy Trails!"" Waletzko wrote. "That seemed to cover everything from, 'Have a nice trip' to 'I hope you day at work goes well' to 'I hope your life is a happy and peaceful as can be.'"

Waletzko then began to look at the state application for signs along the Highway.

"Here is where it got really difficult," Waletzko wrote. "Unfortunately, there is nowhere to go to read exactly what you need and no one to tell you exactly what to do. You really need to do a lot of legwork to find the information." 

Waletzko learned that even if the sign is on private property, it still legally needs a permit. The application requires a "sponsor," a person or office that will be contacted if a sign goes into disrepair. They must fill out the first page of the application and can not be the same group or organization that wants to install the sign.

"This took the most time by far," Waletzko said. "I could not get anyone at the state to answer me as to who would be acceptable and the woman at [Montana Department of Transportation] said that we could not sponsor ourselves. They stated that we needed a town council or public official. Potomac has none of those."

While Waletzko and Nelson joked about naming Jim Cheff Sr. the "Mayor of Potomac," Waletzko said she continued to be sent in circles with local officials and MDT trying to identify an acceptable sponsor for the sign.

Even when Montana State Senator Shannon O'Brien lent her support and got the process moving, after exploring different options they still had no solution.

"At this point I admit I was beginning to get upset. These kids just wanted to put a sign up in their community," Waletzko wrote. "We were a year and a half from the time of inception. The girl who had designed the sign had aged out and the president who had voted on it had aged out. The situation was maddening."

Waletzko reached out to her contact at MDT and explained that 4-H had been around since 1902 and the Potomac Club wasn't going anywhere. The Club receives some funds from the Department of Agriculture so they should be as much a "government entity" as other accepted sponsors. She asked if the Missoula County 4-H Council could be the sponsor, even though the Potomac Valley Club is a part of the Missoula County 4-H. The MDT manager finally approved.

With the state application approved, Waletzko said the county application was relatively easy, "just more paperwork for poor Bob Cheff." The Club appreciated the help of Bailey Minnich with County Zoning and Todd Klietz who did the "surprise" floodplain check.

"We had no idea that was necessary. No one mentioned it," Waletzko wrote. "Thankfully, we were not in the floodplain."

The application was approved for site inspection mid-September 2021. The morning of the inspection, the sign location was reviewed for the first time and the Club was told a sign cannot be installed within 500 feet of a rural intersection and if it is, then the bottom of the sign needs to be taller than 8 feet.

"We were 180 feet from Bear Creek Road and we had purposefully kept our sign under eight feet," Waletzko wrote. "In Missoula County if your sign is over eight feet you are required to have a building permit as well."

Because the Cheff family owned enough land, the sign was moved 320 feet down the fence line.

"I knew they would have no problem with the move and it all worked out," Waletzko wrote.

Nelson added that ironically, this sign is in a location that is very near where a 4-H sign previously stood.

Because the application process for the sign had taken so long, materials to make the sign increased about $200. The prices of lumber to build the framing also increased. The Club applied to Blackfoot Communications to cover the increased cost in materials for which they were approved.

"It was a big lesson in economics," Waletzko wrote. "Thankfully, Jeff McNally at Big Bear Signs is a 4-H alumni and supporter and not only did amazing work but gave us a 4-H discount."

Cheff, Scott Waletzko and Tom Shannon installed the sign a few weeks ago. Cheff, owner/operator for Six Point Construction, built a weatherproof picture frame for the sign. Shannon brought his mini excavator which sped things along.

"It was pretty amazing after the long process - friends and neighbors and family came together to put up a lasting legacy of a Club of great kids who wanted to do something for their community," Waletzko wrote. "This sign is not only welcoming and a safety net for travelers who may break down and not know where they are at but it's a testament to the way most of the people are in the Potomac Valley. This is a valley where people wave when we pass each other on the road, catch loose horses and bring them home, lend anything, offer a helping hand and mostly just support and care about each other. Our sign represents that."

Other 4-H Clubs in the area that have wanted to put up signs and have faced the same challenges.

"If anything, the experience may shed some light on a few regulations and processes that might now get ironed out," Waletzko wrote.

"4-H is an outstanding youth program that shapes youth into well rounded, hard-working, successful adults," Nelson wrote. "When I travel through a community and see a 4-H/Welcome sign identifying a local Club, it speaks positively to me regarding the adults and youth of that community.  A community that supports a 4-H Club promotes experiences that shape the next generation of community members, business owners, educators and leaders, to name a few."

 

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