Downtown Aberdeen has been overrun by superheroes, cleverly disguised as fire hydrants. Planning Director Justin Westbrook and Fire Chief Phillip Richardson devised a contest that was a marvelous hit.
Thirteen fire hydrants in downtown Aberdeen were adopted by local businesses and painted to represent superheroes, real and imaginary.
The heroes represented ranged from Ironman to the U.S. Marines, included one honoring POW’s.
In an extremely close vote, Spiderman (Aberdeen Exterminating) clawed out a first-place win over Underdog (Artist’s Leagues of the Sandhills) taking second place. The Bull Room took third place for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
The judges were selected from the town’s police and fire departments.
Chief Richardson did report one unintended consequence of the contest. The first Sunday as contestants were working on their hydrants, he received serval phone calls at home reporting, “Chief, people are messing with your hydrants.”
Richardson indicated that there were no plans to repaint the hydrants red anytime soon.
The Town of Aberdeen has produced a walking map of the downtown area with the hydrants highlighted. You can obtain a copy at the Aberdeen Town Hall or download it here.
~Written by Sandhills Sentinel Local News/Government Reporter Chris Prentice. 
Contact him at [email protected] or (910) 639-9303.
Slideshow pictures courtesy of Town of Aberdeen. Feature photo ~ Sandhills Sentinel.
