Bill Secunda’s sculpture greets drivers along Route 8 as they enter Butler. Secunda said the sculpture is a tribute to local law enforcement. “At one time I called it ‘The First Responder,’” Secunda said. “He’s headed to town for something — we don’t know.” Austin Uram/Butler Eagle

Sometimes you don’t have to look far for a good idea. Take a drive around Butler County, and it can be challenging to avoid inspiration’s strike.

Last month, we saw Mars Area School District borrowing an idea from Butler Area School District by considering adding a mascot, and more recently, we learned that Butler city looking to Mars borough for similar idea — a mascot artpiece.

At Butler Area School District, the mascot is Tuffy, the Tornado. In Mars, parents are considering a space-themed mascot. Perhaps an alien or a planet will come to represent the school at sports and other events in the not-so-distant future.

More recently, we also learned that the city of Butler could soon feature a mascot art piece welcoming people to the birthplace of the Jeep. Money for the project was raised at a late October event.

Jeff Geibel, president of the Butler AM Rotary Club and a board member of Butler Downtown, told us that Rotary has spearheaded a project to place a metal Bantam Jeep in Butler, which would be an interactive art piece. The organization has commissioned Bill Secunda, a metal and steel artist from Summit Township, to create the piece, with a goal for it to be completed by 2024’s Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in June.

Such a work of art can currently be seen in Mars. The planet statue in Mars is nothing short of iconic, as it serves as a way that residents and visitors alike remember the borough.

Also worth noting is that a metal sculpture of a horse has been placed in the green-space at the intersection of the Route 8 and the South Main Street Bridge in Butler was also done by Secunda. He is currently loaning the piece to the Butler City Shade Tree Commission to display at the location.

Of course, we are supportive of Mars Area School District’s initiative to choose a mascot and the idea to add an interactive Jeep statue in Butler.

But what’s noteworthy here is that by looking to neighbors in Butler County, in both of these situations, inspiration to better another community could be found.

— TL