Two young Utahns are national finalists in an environmental stamp design contest sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service and McDonald's restaurants.
The stamp designs of Brian Hailes, 14, Millville, Cache County, and Phillip Wolt, 10, Sandy, were two of 102 selected from 150,000 entries submitted nationwide.If either design is selected as one of the four contest winners, it will be featured on 200 million first-class postage stamps beginning next April. The four winners will be announced Nov. 17 as part of the Postal Service's annual commemorative stamp pro-gram unveiling.
The Millville and Sandy post offices and McDonald's presented each youth with a $100 U.S. savings bond and a framed color reproduction of his stamp.
Brian, a ninth-grader at South Cache Freshman Center and son of Cynthia and J. Charles Hailes, drew a picture of a boy planting a tree.
The drawing submitted by Phillip features a killer whale "putting a lid on pollution" in an ocean. A home-schooled fifth-grader, Wolt is a son of Terril and Peggy Wolt.
Each post office has a display featuring an enlargement of the stamp design submitted by the youth from its area.
In addition to the stamp-design contest, McDonald's and the Postal Service sponsor a number of environmental initiatives. The Postal Service operates one of the largest com-pressed natural gas-fueled delivery fleets in the nation and recycles nearly 345,000 tons of waste each year.
McDonald's purchases more than $200 million worth of recycled products each year.