How the Grinch stole copper: N.B. nursing home fundraiser festival robbed

Pine Grove Nursing Home in Fredericton is well known for its Christmas cheer, but this year a Grinch has seemingly stolen copper wiring used to power their Festival of Lights.

"Last week, we were working on installing the trees,” said Jim Gorham, president of Pine Grove. “Well, we couldn't figure out why we couldn't get the power to run the drill, so our electrician Joe Dobbelsteyn walked along the fence until he got to Woodstock Road and found the cable had been cut.”

Dobbelsteyn, an 86-year-old retired electrician, has been involved with the nursing home since it was founded in the 1980s.

"It's difficult to fix because we don't have the people to do the work,” said Dobbelsteyn. “We had some help handling the cable yesterday, but other than that the electrical part of I'm doing. So if it takes three days or a week, whatever it takes, I just work away at it until it gets done.”

The Festival of Lights has been bringing visitors by the nursing home for about 15 years. The 130 trees are sponsored by community members and businesses.

The Pine Grove foundation is absorbing the cost of repairs to the copper wiring to replace it.

Police say copper thefts have become commonplace in the region.

"Property crimes have been up,” said Sonya Gilks a spokesperson for Fredericton Police Force. “We've seen an increase in those in the last year, thefts, vandalism, graffiti, all those numbers are trending upwards in Fredericton."

Fredericton police force have no suspects in the copper wire theft.

It's not the first time Pine Grove has been hit by thieves.

"We used to have two donation boxes, one out here by the driveway and one next to the building,” Gorham said. “Last year, one of the boxes was broken into and the money was stolen.”

Pine Grove is still hoping to have their Festival of Lights start as usual on Dec. 1.

"The people of Fredericton have taken to the Christmas programming,” Dobbelsteyn said. “If nothing else, if they don't come here to visit, they come here to see the lights at Christmas time.

“It's become kind of a fixture as far as the community is concerned.”

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