Artist: Heath Cousins, Eldred, PA

Sponsor: Worth W. Smith Co.

Location: Worth W. Smith, West State Street, Olean

In the Artists words: The inspiration was both parties, the sponsor, Nate Smith and the artist coming up with an idea to portray today’s events and give a “hats off” to the soldiers that protect our country everyday.

Bio: Heath Cousins owns and operates Cousins Designs and Graphix in Eldred, PA. He specializes in street graphics, custom signs, lettering and airbrushing. Most summer weekends, you can see his custom artwork on the stock cars at the local dirt tracks.

Essay: Squirrels By: Austin Ring — There are many squirrels in Olean, all of them are cool. My favorite squirrel is the Olean Patriot. It is my favorite because it honors all veterans. I like how the squirrel is mostly camouflage. The tail is very patriotic. It has the U.S. flag on in. The tail is partially camouflaged. The most important part of the tail is the badges on it. The badges represent army, marine, corps, air force and the navy. Truly these squirrels are a great part of Olean.