MAHONING RIVER Seeking signatures for special Ohio plate

The Ohio BMV needs petition signatures to OK a new license plate honoring the river.
WARREN -- Mahoning Valley residents may soon be able to celebrate the Mahoning River's legacy in the form of a special Ohio license plate.
State Sen. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-33rd, said the Mahoning River license plate legislation has been passed by both the Ohio House and Senate and is expected to be signed by Gov. Bob Taft.
It's up to residents, however, to provide enough signatures on a petition to fulfill Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicle requirements.
The petition can be found at www.MahoningRiver.co.trumbull.oh.us and some of the 1,000 required signatures are still needed, Hagan said. Anyone with an Ohio license plate can sign this petition.
The design
A youth organization of the Mahoning River Consortium designed the plates.
"We'd appreciate support in any form. If everyone doesn't help out, then our goal of a clean river may never be realized," said Brook Katzman, a Boardman High School senior working with the river consortium.
There would be an additional cost to the standard license plate fee, with a portion of the proceeds going to a designated fund.
Cleanup
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has estimated the cost to clean the nearly 33 miles of heavily polluted river between Leavittsburg and the Pennsylvania line to be $100 million.
About $35 million for the project would have to come from local and state sources. The dredging project could last as long as 15 years.
"This project has vast potential to provide entertainment, economic and social benefits to the area," Hagan said.
"I am delighted that we are able to promote the restoration of the Mahoning River in such a unique way," he said. "For better or worse, the U.S. steel industry has left an indelible mark on the Mahoning Valley landscape. Soon we will begin creating a new legacy starting with an ecologically restored Mahoning River."