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PROVO -- As the price of copper has risen, so has the number of copper thieves looking to make a quick buck. It appears nothing is off limits to the thieves, even elementary schools.
The night of Jan. 4, thieves targeted copper wiring at the new Provo Peaks Elementary. It's being built to replace the old Farrer Elementary School and decorative pieces from the old school will be used in the new school in what builders say will be a beautiful new building.
The thieves took copper welding leads and other items. Hogan and Associates Construction is building the school and vice president Dwight Packard said this isn't the only school that's been targeted in the past month.
It's very discouraging to the workers to have it happen because we are under very strict deadlines. One thing about building schools, school always starts and we have to be done and ready for them when they start in August.
–Dwight Packard
Two elementary schools under construction in Saratoga Springs have also been hit by copper thieves.
"In one instance they cut the live power feed to our construction trailer while it was live. Very, very dangerous to steal a relatively small amount of wire," said Packard.
He said having the power cut can cause long delays because the power in the winter is used to heat the ground and masonry work to keep them from freezing.
"It's very discouraging to the workers to have it happen because we are under very strict deadlines," said Packard. "One thing about building schools, school always starts and we have to be done and ready for them when they start in August."
Packard said the thefts hurt their bottom line. They not only have to replace the copper, but the delays cause lost time and they are now hiring extra security to keep an eye on the schools to prevent future theft.
"Often times when we get thefts it's for tools and things like that, but in these instances it was all just copper wire," said Packard.
Anyone living near the school construction sites is being asked to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
