Debate about a statue of Lucille Ball erected six years ago in her New York hometown has started again and those who say the tribute to the legendary comedy actress bears little resemblance to her have begin talk of raising funds to get it replaced.
The life-sized statue of the star of "I Love Lucy," created by sculptor Dave Poulin, was installed in 2009 in Lucille Ball Memorial Park in Celoron, and detractors started complaining about it almost immediately,
according to the Jamestown Post-Journal.
"That statue looks nothing like Lucille Ball," said Faye Rose Smith on the
Facebook site "I Love Lucy: Get Rid of this Statue!"
Mayor Scott Schrecengost told the newspaper he wants Poulin to "stand behind his work enough" and fix the statue for free. Otherwise, he said, it would cost from $5,000 to $10,000 to repair it to the point where it does resemble Ball. He has ruled out using tax money to make the needed fixes.
Schrecengost said he understands the emotional connection the residents have with Ball and the statue, but there are more important things he's dealing with.
"I've got so many other things I'm working on in the village. I need to set my priorities," said the mayor. "These people on Facebook need to realize that we're all aware that (the statue) doesn't look like Lucy and needs to be fixed. We're just working on getting the funds to do that."
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