T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Belmont County resident Lisa Hertler donated her skills and time to paint the village’s fountain blue to showcase the village’s school spirit.

BRIDGEPORT – The village of Bridgeport is preparing for its America 250 celebration by beautifying the centerpiece of the village, its fountain.

Mayor Norma Teasdale said that the village is preparing for its biggest event yet.

On July 5, the village will shut down South Lincoln Avenue from the site of the fountain to Hall Street. Teasdale said that food trucks, entertainment, a dunk tank, blow ups, and live music will be occurring at the event. The festivities will conclude with a fireworks display provided at dusk.

The Ron Retzer Trio, Stevie Lynn, Dillon Gambol, Carson Clouse, and the Gage Joseph Band will be performing from 3:15 p.m. until 10 p.m.

Teasdale said that a stage will be erected with Erb Electric providing the power source down as well as donating tables and chairs for attendees.

She added that if it rains the fireworks will be moved to July 6 but the event is rain of shine.

To prepare for the event, Belmont County resident Lisa Hertler donated her skills and time to paint the fountain blue.

“I work for Erb Electric’s sign division, but I offered to do the artwork on the fountain just because I’ve worked here for 18 years. I just thought it was such a great opportunity to give back to the village that I work in,” Hertler said. “I was there for probably eight hours. I used a stencil, traced it, and then hand painted it. We’re still going to add to it, but I ran out of time that day, but got three of its sides done.”

She will add to the fourth side of the fountain, but the fountain is completely painted blue. Hertler painted “Welcome to Bridgeport Ohio” and dotted the “i” in Bridgeport with a pawprint of a bulldog, which she plans to put on all four corners. She said she wanted to put the wording on each side so no matter which direction traffic was driving, the drivers will see it.

Hertler added that, since painting the fountain, residents have asked her why she painted it blue — the predominant color used by Bridgeport School District.

“A lot of people question the blue, and to me, it’s pride in the community, starting out with school colors and supporting the area,” Hertler said. “When you come into a town or a city, you see their school colors. I think using the blue and the white brings us back to the school and the pride in the community, and just building on that and making people proud of where they come from.”

Teasdale added that in addition to her painting the fountain, village street superintendent Travis Snodgrass was the driving force behind the project.

“This was his baby, we were anxious to get it done, because we want to have this event on July 5,” Teasdale said. “Travis [Snodgrass] wanted to get it painted and everything, and that’s how it started. Then he changed all of the lights with LED lights now and made sure that the wiring and everything was either replaced or working fine.”

Hertler added that the project would not have been made possible without Snodgrass.

“He worked so, so, so hard on that fountain, bringing it back to its beautiful original self, and just adding as much as he possibly could to make it just absolutely stunning, and it’s really awesome,” Hertler said.