It sounds like you have a sidewall dent? Can you take a picture? You probably could straighten it out and "ride it until it dies", but remember that your safety may be implicated in the rim's passing. The cheapest option (other than riding the damaged rim) is to replace the rim with the same thing. That way, you won't have to buy new spokes.
Personally, I don't like to take any chances when it comes to wheel failure. I recently replaced an open pro because I got an "extra spoke hole" from a screw and I didn't want to have to worry about whether my rim was going to crack on the next pothole.