Now everybody can be a judge. This year for the first time Ironton In Bloom is asking the public to rate the Deco Pots that have been adorning downtown since mid-October.

“We did it as a response to last year,” Carol Allen, IIB president, said. “What we found was that judges oftentimes choose something the public doesn’t believe is the best choice. Judges are looking at what is the makeup, how it is displayed. They are looking more for the elements of a nice piece of floral design. But citizens may say ‘That is not the prettiest.’”

Now through Oct. 31, anyone can vote for a particular container for the cost of $1 a vote. There is no limit to the number of votes a container can receive. Also residents can vote for more than one container.

They must put the location of the container on a sheet of paper and either mail that into Ironton In Bloom, P.O. Box 4599, Ironton, OH 45638 or drop their votes into a box at the Transit Center during business hours. Whatever container receives the most votes will be the winner.

The minimum prize will be $25 to the designer of the winning pot. The names of those who voted for that container will be placed in a drawing. The name drawn from that will also receive a matching cash prize.

“The remainder will go into Ironton In Bloom’s budget for next year,” Allen said. “This way, part of it is being a money-maker and it brings attention to the good things for our community.”