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Flashing beacon on job by Huntington Catholic

A pedestrian-controlled flashing light has been installed on North Jefferson Street in Huntignton in front of Huntington Catholic School.
A pedestrian-controlled flashing light has been installed on North Jefferson Street in Huntignton in front of Huntington Catholic School. Photo by Cindy Klepper.

A new flashing beacon - activated when pedestrians, mainly school children, are crossing Jefferson Street - is now in place in front of Huntington Catholic School.

City officials and Huntington Catholic School students gathered around the flashing yellow beacon Monday afternoon, March 3, to celebrate its installation.

The flashing light became reality after it was suggested to Huntington Mayor Brooks Fetters by Rita Disler during a Mayor's Night In session last January.

Disler is a teacher at Huntington Catholic's Primary Building on Cherry Street, which houses students in preschool through fourth grade.

Students in fifth through eighth grades attend classes in the Middle Building, located on Jefferson Street.

Students frequently walk from one building to the other, she told Fetters, and the students - along with other pedestrians - could use some help with traffic control.

Fetters turned the project over to Police Chief E.J. Carroll, along with Anthony Goodnight and Adam Cuttriss of the city's engineering department.

They worked with the Indiana Department of Transportation (Jefferson Street is also Ind.-5, a state highway) to locate the flashing beacon at the mid-block crosswalk.

Cuttriss provided the engineering for the project, which was installed by the city with the school contributing a portion of the project's cost.

Pedestrians who want to use the crosswalk push a button to activate the flashing yellow beacon, alerting motorists that they will be walking across the street.

Motorists should stop when the yellow light is flashing, Cuttriss says.

A crossing guard with a stop sign will continue to assist groups of students using the crosswalk during the school day.

Complete caption; Standing next to the pedestrian-controlled flashing light on North Jefferson Street are Huntington Catholic School students (front, from left) Emily Molitor, Gracey Linker, Jessica Hartmus, Ben Blomeke and Sarah Clor; (second row, from left) Huntington Mayor Brooks Fetters; HCS students Graham Scher, Taylor Reust, Garrett Scheiber and Gavin Rosen; Anthony Goodnight, the city’s director of public works and engineering services; and school crossing guard Eldon Meitzler; and (back row, from left) Huntington Police Chief E.J. Carroll; Nick Stanley, a member of the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety; Bob Caley, director of city services; and Adam Cuttriss, the city’s engineering inspector/technician.