Adopt-A-Hydrant fundraiser a splashing success

There's one excuse that will not fly for anyone parking in front of about two dozen fire hydrants on Swinomish Reservation.

That being they weren't visible.

Instead, you can hardly miss those hydrants anymore.

By Saturday afternoon 22 fire hydrants had been adopted and most repainted – many with distinctive bright colors and designs – as part of a Skagit County Fire District 13 fundraiser.

The district's Adopt-A-Hydrant campaign was coordinated by firefighter Logan James. Participants paid $100 for each adopted hydrant, then either applied the paint themselves or gave others the opportunity.

James provided painters with maps showing locations of hydrants where they could display their artistic flair.

A La Conner High School assistant baseball coach, James had over the past month set out paint a handful of times at various locations – including the school campus – for those adopting hydrants to take with them and do their handiwork.

"Logan had the paint out here," Swinomish Boys & Girls Club Director Charlie Edwards said Thursday from his office at the tribal gymnasium, "and the kids got busy doing the hydrants around here."

On Saturday James lined up paint cans and containers atop a long table at John K. Bob Ball Park before and after a barbecue luncheon there. The paint was donated by The Home Depot and Ace Hardware of Anacortes, he said, and other local businesses also joined the cause.

Santo Coyote Mexican Restaurant, La Conner Seafood & Prime Rib House and Lopez Island Creamery stepped up, as did Tillinghast Postal and Business Center, which created the design for the Adopt-A-Hydrant drive's promotional poster.

"The kids have loved it," said James, who noted that one of the high school student clubs sponsored a hydrant.

"They just have to come by and find it," he said. "Once they get their paint, they can finish it."

The project has been a way to brighten the local landscape, especially on gray, overcast days.

"It's been something fun to do to kick off summer," said James, "although I wish it was warmer today."