[June 29, 2011] Thieves steal wire at Rock Spring Park Tweet ALTON, Jun 28, 2011 (The Telegraph - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Wire-thief Grinches who normally strike the Christmas Wonderland display in the fall and winter have changed to the summer, targeting electrical equipment in Rock Spring Park twice in two days. They also cut a high-voltage wire inside a 6-inch-diameter conduit running from an electrical pole to a telecommunications tower 10 yards from one of the display's electrical panel boxes in the park, said Bob Osburn of Godfrey. Osburn is head of the Grandpa Gang volunteers who put up the annual Christmas display. "If we get this stopped, we will have a 'park' this year; if we don't get this stopped, we won't have a 'park,'" Osburn said about the display of more than 1 million lights, metal and wood-cutout shapes with a holiday theme. Osburn said Alton Park and Recreation staff discovered Friday morning that someone had cut the locks and pried open 13 of the Grandpa Gang's 20 electric panel boxes. They then cut the 4- to 6-foot- long copper grounding wires running from a bus bar inside each panel to the ground, making off with each one. He said he put some new locks on the boxes, but Osburn had feared Friday that the thief or thieves would return to steal wire from the remaining five panel boxes. He guessed correctly -- in part. Just as Osburn assumed, they did return late Friday night or early Saturday morning, but only targeted two more of the remaining five boxes. "They probably got $10 scrapping them (wire), but did about $2,000 in damage," Osburn said. Fortunately, some Grandpas were electricians and can replace the wires, but it will cost $500 in materials, he said. Despite risking continued thefts, he said the repairs have to be completed this summer because the Grandpas are on a tight schedule once they start working on the next display each September. Christmas Wonderland opens the day after Thanksgiving each year. There is some park security, and Alton police patrol Rock Spring, he said. Others may be checking the park during nighttime hours for suspicious activities. "They are going to come back," he said. Osburn said a 480-volt wire from inside the conduit was cut at the cell phone tower site, and dangerously left exposed to someone who might come upon its remnants. Apparently, no one was injured, he said. On June 9, an employee of T-Mobile reported to the Alton Police Department that someone had gotten inside the fenced area around a telecommunications tower at the adjacent Alton Middle School, 2200 College Ave. The thief cut holes in two chain-link fences, cut power to two boxes and stole a quantity of copper wiring from the area, by the school's football field. The missing wire and damage to the fence totaled about $3,000, an Alton police report said. [email protected] To see more of The Telegraph or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thetelegraph.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, The Telegraph, Alton, Ill. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]