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Lanett’s new downtown fountain hasn’t been running for a few days for a most unusual reason.

Mayor Kyle McCoy talked about it at Wednesday’s noon hour meeting of the West Point Lions Club.

McCoy said it appears that someone dumped the cremated remains of a loved one in the fountain and that the bone fragments clumped together, stopping the water from circulating.

“It wasn’t what we were expecting,” McCoy said. “We have got what we’ve recovered in a box, but we don’t know what to do with it. People need to understand that this is not a good idea. Your loved one’s remains could wind up in the trash.”

The mayor said he’s talked to the police about it to see if foul play might have been involved.

“There’s just not enough left to have DNA,” he said.

McCoy said it looks as if someone out there thought this to be a suitable way to pay tribute to a loved one who really loved Lanett. The problem is that it stops up the fountain, and there’s a lot of work involved in getting to run normally again.

Hunter Cook, who built and maintains the fountain, has been working on it for several days.

“We should have it back up and running real soon,” McCoy said.