Copper thieves got away with $30 worth of wiring from Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County, but cost the agency $6,000 in repair bills at a time when requests for assistance are skyrocketing.
Denise Harris, special events coordinator for Meals on Wheels, which serves all of Tarrant County, said the thieves struck twice -- Aug. 3 and Aug. 18 -- damaging a walk-in cooler and one of the two air conditioning units."Copper is $3.20 a pound, so they got less than $30," Harris said. Stealing copper "is not a lucrative opportunity, but it is an expensive proposition for us."When the copper lines were cut, Freon drained from the cooler. But employees discovered the damage and no food was lost, she said.Five years ago, the air conditioning unit and cooler were stolen, so Meals on Wheels enclosed them in a fence, but that didn't deter the thieves. Now special grating will be installed to prevent people from putting their hands inside the fence, she said.Besides struggling with a tight budget and high repair bills, the organization's number of calls for assistance has doubled this summer. On average the agency gets 150 calls per month but now 300 calls are coming in, Harris said.Meanwhile, there is good news at the Arlington Life Shelter, which faced an estimated cost of $8,000 to replace two failing air conditioning units.Churches, organizations and businesses pitched in to donate around $14,000 to replace and install the new units.Executive Director Becky Orander said some donations went toward the cost of the new units while others helped with hauling them on to the roof and paid for the installation work."We were very, very pleased with all of the support we've gotten from the community," she said.Orander said she thinks that more people are aware of homeless people and how they must cope with harsh weather conditions."People usually think about the homeless when it's cold outside, but the heat can be almost as bad," she said.Elizabeth Campbell,817-390-7696Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
