A 400-pound bronze statue of Lucille Ball sat quietly in Lucille Ball Memorial Park in Celoron for roughly five years.

It didn’t take long for people to note the statue doesn’t really resemble Lucille Ball, but discussions to either change or replace the statue have been private. The statue has never really been a public point of discussion. That changed in the last week when an anonymously created Facebook page, a mention on a Buffalo television newscast and stories based on the Facebook page spread like wildfire. All of a sudden, the statue was worldwide news on Yahoo, CNN, HLN and other news broadcasts and websites around the globe.

To borrow a phrase from Anchorman’s Ron Bergundy, “that escalated quickly.”

One would have thought the controversy would begin to die down when Dave Poulin, the statue’s sculptor, announced Monday evening that he would fix the statue for free after receiving hundreds of angry emails and phone messages, including some death threats, since the Facebook campaign picked up steam last week. His offer was an about-face from the past few years of discussions between Celoron officials and Poulin, when the sculptor had said it would cost between $8,000 and $10,000 to rework the statue. It is this impasse that resulted in the viral sensation that has centered on Celoron for nearly a solid week. The village should, under no circumstances, use taxpayer money on the statue. It was unrealistic over the last five years to expect that Poulin, as a businessman, would take on an expensive project at his cost. This is particularly true since Poulin didn’t expect the statue – particularly one he admits didn’t meet his expectations – to be displayed publicly.

At least there is finally a way forward. As was detailed in today’s edition of The Post-Journal, Poulin doesn’t want to see another artist modify his sculpture – an understandable position for any artist to take. If changing a statue that everyone agrees needs work isn’t an option, then, it seems the existing statue should be removed from the park while fundraising for a new statue takes place. Donations can be sent to Lucy Statue, Village of Celoron, NY, P.O. Box 577, Celoron, NY 14720-0577; Five Star Bank, 284 E. Fairmount Ave., Lakewood, NY 14750 – or any branch of Five Star Bank; or online at www.kickstarter.com, with the project title of “Lucille Ball Tribute Statue, Celoron NY.” Fundraising is also the answer, by the way, for anyone who wants a new location for another Lucille Ball statue – including, as some anonymous Facebook posters have mused, near the National Comedy Center or elsewhere in Jamestown. The message to those who have flooded the Internet and The Post-Journal with calls, Facebook posts and emails to fix the statue is this – it’s time to pay up or hush up.

Either way, it’s long past time for this manufactured controversy to come to an end. There are much more pressing local concerns deserving of area residents’ and elected officials’ attention.