Public asked to pick favorite Rocky Point license plate

By Tessa Roy
Posted 4/27/17

It's not yet summer, but the aroma of student-made clamcakes and red chowder permeated the Warwick Area Career and Technical Center Tuesday as three students unveiled their designs for a Rocky Point inspired license plate. Proceeds from the

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Public asked to pick favorite Rocky Point license plate

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It’s not yet summer, but the aroma of student-made clamcakes and red chowder permeated the Warwick Area Career and Technical Center Tuesday as three students unveiled their designs for a Rocky Point inspired license plate. Proceeds from the sale of the plates will benefit further preservation of the 124-acre Rocky Point Park.

Anthony Lescarbeau, 11th grade, and Skye Whelpley, 12th grade, of West Warwick High School and Meaghan Marcus, 11th grade, of Toll Gate High School worked with Career and Tech Center teacher Jann Rogers-Garner to create plates that captured their own views and memories of Rocky Point. Each features the instantly recognizable Rocky Point arch.

“I went to Rocky Point when I was little, but I haven’t gone recently. I’m sure it’s a lot different from when I last saw it,” Whelpley said. She remembers visiting Rocky Point as a child with her parents and made sure to highlight the water, birds, and other Rhode Island aspects on her plate. Later this fall, Whelpley plans to attend the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio and will study studio animation and illustration. She also recently took first place in the Lindsay Ann Burke Poster Contest and will take part in a national SkillsUSA competition this summer.

Marcus, who hopes to study studio art and photography and have a career that allows her to travel the world, also recently took home a prize in a poster competition. She took first place in the Potter League Animal Shelter Poster competition for an entry in the Homeless Pets category. For her plate, she had the arch standing prominently against the U.S.’s red, white, and blue colors.

“I hadn’t really been to [Rocky Point] until about a year or two ago and… I couldn’t believe how much there was there. I just wanted to walk and look at every single thing,” she said.

Lescarbeau, who said he’s visited most of Rhode Island, was excited about the opportunity to depict Rocky Point, particularly the arch.

“When I heard this project was about Rocky Point, I was kind of ecstatic because I still remember that arch from way back whenever I visited it,” he said. “I always liked how it stood tall and proud for what it’s for even though no one really knows why it’s there. I just feel like it represents Rhode Island along with the sunsets that you see just waking up in Rhode Island.”

After he graduates high school, Lescarbeau hopes to pursue graphic design.

Local officials including Mayor Scott Avedisian, Senator Erin Lynch Prata, Senator Michael McCaffrey, Representative Joseph Solomon, and Director of the state Department of Environmental Management Janet Coit, accompanied Career and Tech Director William McCaffrey, Rogers-Garner, and Rocky Point Foundation President John Howell in honoring the three students at a press conference Tuesday. Each will receive a $300 gift, and Solomon and Senator McCaffrey said they’d both be purchasing one of the plates. Solomon, who introduced legislation to create the place,

“The amusement park was wonderful and responsible for so many memories, but the sequel — preserved open space for everyone to enjoy the natural wonders of Warwick’s most beautiful spot — will be a long-lasting legacy for all Rhode Islanders,” Solomon said. “And what better way to celebrate a Rhode Island icon than with the most iconic Rhode Island thing of all — the license plate.”

Many remarked on late Senator William Walaska’s involvement with the park.

“From moment one, [he] was behind this project and did everything he could to help move this along,” said Avedisian, adding “When you think about the fact that all different branches, all different entities came together to make this work, it’s why it really was a success.”

In a statement, Howell (who is the publisher of the Beacon and Sun Rise) remarked, “Now that the park has been preserved for the public, a Rocky Point plate not only serves to recall the park’s rich history but also celebrates it as the place for wonderful new memories.”

Coit, who lingered to talk to students long after the formal ceremony concluded, added that the plates would be a “fitting tribute to all Rocky Point has been and continues to be for Rhode Islanders.”

The three designs are posted at www.RockyPointPlate.com where people can vote for their favorite design. Howell said once the poll has garnered several thousand votes, the preferred design will be announced and people will be able to place their orders on the RockyPointPlate.com website. Once a threshold of 900 plates has been reached, the plates will be produced and distributed.

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  • waltmag

    I support the Rocky Point Park and the new plates. I find it tough to decide which is the best design. They did a wonderful job on all of them. Maybe they should also design the new general issue plates which have been lost somewhere in space it seems.

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