State College Residents Looking To Put Up New Statue Of Joe Paterno

Counties constituting the Happy Valley Region of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s approaching two years since Penn State, in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, took down the Joe Paterno statue and carted the likeness of the legendary football coach off into nearby Beaver Stadium.

The university has been tight-lipped since then about what became of the statue, and hasn’t said much more than that publicly about how it plans to treat Paterno’s legacy moving forward.

Tired of waiting, several State College residents say they are moving forward with plans to bring their own statue of the man to downtown State College.

“This is something we can do on our own schedule,” said Ted Sebastianelli, a candidate for the Penn State board of trustees and one of the locals behind an effort to create a new Paterno statue. “We don’t have to wait.”

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/04/23/4147421/group-looking-to-put-up-new-statue.html?sp=/99/264/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

2 Artists Seek To Restore Damaged Dove In Reading City Park

A 1947 topographic map of the Reading, Pennsylvania area. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  One of the benefits of arts revitalization!

On a bright summer day in a nearly deserted park, two men stand in the shadow of a crumbling statue.

Pointing at the flaking, cracked concrete and graffiti that cover the dove sculpture in City Park, they recoil in disgust.

“Look at this,” said artist Yesid Gomez. “This is an embarrassment. Whose fault is this? It is our fault for letting it look like this.”

Gomez and his cousin, Wilfer Buitrago, examine the statue, taking measurements and noting the damage that it has sustained over the years.  Shaking their heads, they said they feel ashamed to see the dove in such poor condition.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=406658