ALTON - The Grandpa Gang is hard at work to complete the Christmas Wonderland light display in Rock Springs Park after discovering some of their wiring had been stolen Tuesday.
Al Cowgill, leader of the Grandpa Gang, said the volunteers typically start setting up the display in September but this is one of the few times when a theft has occurred so close to the completion date.
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"This is an occurrence that happens almost every year, somebody steals some wire," Cowgill said. "This is about the first time it's happened this close to the deadline, so now we're kind of in a rush to get things back in shape."
Originally the group thought there was about 1,500 feet of missing grounded conductor wire but throughout the day realized more thank 2,000 feet had been stolen.
"We first thought 1,500 feet," Cowgill said. "Then we found out they took the wire off another box also, so it's a total of around 2,500 feet of wire that we have to replace. They took about a weeks work. We work half a day, but it's going to take about 20 hours of three or four guys working to get it all fixed."
Although they've been set back, the Grandpa Gang is still scheduled to finish the Christmas Wonderland displays in time to open at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 24, in Rock Springs Park. The display will be open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. during week nights and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekend nights until Wednesday, December 27.
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