To The Readers’ Forum:

Your editorial of April 8 was right on target. All of the “hoopla” surrounding the Lucy sculpture in Celeron is a local distraction. Celeron and the other municipalities in Chautauqua County have much more pressing business to attend to.

Unfortunately, the fact that the matter has gone “viral” on the internet has resulted in the whole matter being distorted and misrepresented. One unfortunate victim has been David Poulin, the sculptor. No one seems to recall that Mr. Poulin came to Jamestown over a decade ago and established his own studio and foundry for casting bronze. From that came several public sculptures including those at the Veteran’s Center on Tracy Plaza, the multi-figure bronze at the ice arena and the powerful Underground Railroad Tableau in the park across from the library. In addition, Mr. Poulin initiated an art/sculpture program at the Milton J. Fletcher Elementary School where students became personally involved in selection, design and hands-on work in creating bronze sculpture for a garden at the school.

Now, because of one sculpture which he himself admits was not one of his best works and over which he has expressed a willingness to improve, he has been made a political outcast.

Perhaps there is a silver lining in all of this since a lot more people around the world now know that Lucille Ball was born in Celoron, N.Y. But, leaving that aside, for those of us who live here, it is time for Celoron to have the sculpture that they want and for the rest of us to move on.

Maybe Lucy will have the last laugh. The internet crowd will come to town to see not only the Lucy-Desi Museum and the new National Comedy Center, but they will also probably ask where they can find the much-maligned, old sculpture that once stood in Celoron Lakeside Park and sparked an international media frenzy in 2015!

Rolland Kidder

Ashville