City of The Dalles Replaces Stolen Solar Lights
Bruce Borders, with City of The Dalles was out replacing stolen solar lights that illuminate The City of The Dalles sign at the east entrypoint of town this morning, March 7. Photo: Cole Goodwin
By Cole Goodwin
The Dalles, Ore., March 7, 2024 – The City of The Dalles replaced one of the stolen solar lights that illuminate The City of The Dalles sign on the East end of town this morning, March 7.
The lights that illuminate the welcome sign were stolen back in November when thieves cut through the metal rods that held the lights and solar panels in place.
The City of The Dalles welcome signs were officially unveiled by the City and the City Beautification Committee last May and are less than a year old.
“The lights that were taken were $166 a piece and we replaced them with lights that were a little bit cheaper at $106 a piece,” said Mills.
“It was more sad than anything. It was a really great thing to purchase these signs for the community and to have somebody come to steal these lights was disappointing.”
The City then had to go through a redesign process as a result of the theft.
“We had to brainstorm and come up with a bunch of different ideas about how to secure the lights,” said David Mills, Transportation Manager.
“We found some lights from the same company that are solar and LED. But the solar panel is actually attached to the light. So we built a base down into the ground about two feet deep and poured concrete around the light itself,” said Mills. “Hopefully this will work for us.”
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