Samantha Pidde, Clinton Herald, Iowa –
CLINTON Thieves forced the Jaycee’s annual Symphony of Lights to shut down on Nov. 30, after stealing an estimated $2,000 of copper-rich romax wire. Now, after the holiday season, the organization has once again been victim of such a theft.
Symphony of Lights ended Dec. 30 and electricians came to Eagle Point Park on Dec. 31 to begin pulling the wire. The theft of more wire occurred sometime between Dec. 31 and Jan. 4, according to an incident report filed with the Clinton Police Department.
“Every person I spoke with last week, their first comments were ‘Are you kidding?’” said Symphony of Lights Chairman Chris Dinning, who filed the report.
Dinning said someone came into the park and took the power cords that ran from the breaker box to the displays. Approximately 1,000 feet of romax wire was stolen and damaged as it was cut near a breaker box. According to the police report, the estimated value of the wire was $350.
Dinning felt the event had received an “outpouring of support from the community” after the November theft. He said the main priority now is getting volunteers to help tear down the displays as quickly as possible. The Symphony of Lights board will consider these thefts while planning for next year’s event.
“We just need to continue to improve our event and try to avoid this from happening agan,” Dinning said.
Volunteers will meet Saturday to take down the displays.
