'Prayers for Rustic Ridge' yard signs uniting, benefiting Plum community

A yard sign is helping to bring the Plum community together in the wake of tragedy.

Corey Smith, a Plum native and 2007 graduate of its high school, is a co-owner of FastSigns in Monroeville. Following last Saturday’s house explosion that claimed six lives, he started Monday by making 10 yard signs that say “Prayers for Rustic Ridge” in the community’s colors of purple and gold.

By the end of the week, he had sold just shy of 1,000 signs and was preparing to sell hundreds, if not thousands, more.

Smith said profits from the sign sales will be divided up to support those impacted by the explosion.

“This thing has taken off. It is way more than I thought it would be,” he said. “It’s almost like the sign is what they needed to connect or something.”

On Friday, Smith said he had dropped 500 signs off at Oakmont Bakery. Signs also will be available in Plum at Del’s Plum Creamery and Lelulo’s Pizzeria, both in Unity Plaza, and at Willow Golf Range on Saltsburg Road.

Smith said people also can get a sign by calling 412-374-1420 or emailing 207@fast signs.com. The store, at 4051 William Penn Highway near Big Lots, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Smith said it probably will be open at times over the weekend but could not provide specific hours.

He also suggested following the business on Facebook for information.

A sign costs $20, which can be paid with cash or Venmo to FastSigns207.

When he was thinking of what he could do to help, Smith said he asked a former teacher for his opinion about making the sign.

“He said it was a great idea, and I didn’t look back,” Smith said. “It just kind of snowballed. Plum’s really stepping up. It’s just incredible. Every $20 bill we collect has a story. These people were important to a lot of people.”

Killed in the explosion were Michael Thomas, Plum’s borough manager; Heather Oravitz, the borough’s community development director, and her husband, Paul Oravitz; Kevin Sebunia; and father and son Casey and Keegan Clontz.

The blast and fire immediately destroyed three houses and damaged numerous others, some possibly beyond repair. As of Friday, borough officials had not provided a tally of how many homes were damaged and of those how many will need to be torn down.

Smith said he will keep making signs as long as they are wanted.

“All I did was what I knew how to do,” he said.