Xmas Grinches repeatedly target popular Stadium Park holiday light displays in Canton

CANTON ‒ Thieves and vandals have caused more than $11,000 worth of damage to the Stadium Park holiday light display since it was turned on Nov. 16.

The most recent incident occurred early Tuesday, when a North Canton man was accused of stealing extension cords, damaging them in the process.

“A lot of times when these folks steal the cords, they don't just unplug them, they cut them," said Dan Kunz, Canton park superintendent. "It’s vandalism as well as theft.”

The value of the loss was estimated to be more than $1,000, according to the complaint Canton police filed in Canton Municipal Court.

The 27-year-old suspect is charged with theft, possession of criminal tooks, vandalism, drug possession, identity fraud and obstructing official business. The court document alleges the defendant gave police his brother's name because he had an arrest warrant. He is scheduled for arraignment Thursday.

The incident was reported to police at 2:42 a.m. Tuesday.

Canton holiday light display hit by thieves and vandals

“This individual that got caught, this was the biggest theft so far this year, but it's been going on since, oh, the third week in November,” Kunz said.

He said the problems started as soon as the 23rd annual holiday light display was turned on.

“We started getting elements, small controllers and timers, stolen from that date until now. Pieces and parts started to disappear,” he said.

Park workers kept the displays going by repairing damage after it was discovered, and removing items that could not be fixed quickly.

Two to three weeks ago, multiple people went on a vandalism spree from the north end of the park at Fulton Road to the south end at 12th Street NW.

"Everywhere that they touched, they caused damage," Kunz said.

He estimates they did $10,000 to $15,000 worth of damage, considering the cost of staff time spent on repairs and the cost of replacing materials.

“Anything with copper is very expensive nowadays to buy," Kunz said. "When they start taking pieces and elements and destroying cords, that's what costs us money.”

Tuesday's thief took one of the controllers that signals lights to turn on and off. The controllers, custom built for city, cost up to $200 each.

Lighted bridge tunnel in Canton's Stadium Park vandalized

The vandals who struck earlier this month damaged the lighted tunnel over the bridge that crosses the West Branch of the Nimishillen Creek near the pond. They tore down the PVC pipe that forms the tunnel and ripped the lights off.

“It took our crews roughly a day to rebuild all that and get that up and running," Kunz said.

They also damaged the display of blue and white angels, each standing 8 to 10 feet tall.

"The vandals had taken out about half of what we have out there, bent them over, broke the frames, just caused minor damage, but in the long run we lose half a display,” Kunz said. “The damage on the angels was significant enough where we had to pull the broken pieces, bring them back to our shop. They won't go up until next year. We have to strip the entire display of its lights, refabricate the frame that the lights go on.“

Also earlier this month, vandals removed lighted wreaths placed on the sides of the bridge closest to 12th Street. They were torn off the bridge and thrown in the creek. Park workers put new lights on them and affixed them to the bridge.

Kunz described the damage as "stupid vandalism.”

“I'll chalk it up to the kids with more time on their hands than they know what to do with,” he said. “Not enough adult supervision."

More patrols and cameras may be added

The administration is working on ways to detect and deter future incidents.

“The city’s currently working on fiber-optic expansion within the city, which will enable us to put more cameras up in areas like this," Kunz said. "Cameras have been very successful in the city at identifying individuals and crimes. Camera expansions and more patrols are always something that we're looking at.”

He said Tuesday's thief was caught when he was spotted carrying the stolen equipment on a camera that is part of the police department's real time crime center.

Kunz said that despite what he described as a rough year, the parks' dedicated crew worked hard to make sure the holiday display was up and running.

“Even after theft, vandalism, we're not going to let it ruin it because we're here for the public," Kunz said. "We love  our constituents. They support us greatly. We aim to put on a good display the whole time."

Starting Nov. 16: Here comes Santa: Stadium Park holiday light display and Holly Pine Lane open Thursday

Crime under scrutiny: New Canton Crime Center aims to help solve, prevent

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Theft, vandalism reported Tuesday at Canton holiday light display