STATE COLLEGE, Pa. --

The dozens of signs, bouquets of flowers and other items left by fans at the Joe Paterno statue outside Beaver Stadium in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach have been removed and stored inside the stadium to dry out.

   Penn State officials say the items were removed early Wednesday morning with the prior knowledge of Paterno's family. Penn State says the family will have a chance to review items to decide what to keep or donate.

   The bronzed statue had turned into a makeshift memorial since Paterno died Jan. 22, less than three months after school trustees ousted him Nov. 9 as football coach in the wake of child sex abuse charges against a retired assistant.

   Paterno's family announced he had lung cancer more than a week later.