Money in Manholes

The police were in front of our house on the alley yesterday morning. They brought a trash can from the park to stop anyone from driving or walking into a huge hole in the middle of the road. Someone had stolen a manhole cover! After a call about a missing cover a block away they decided to check the rest of the alley. Good thing they did or we would have backed our car out of the garage directly into it.

 

This looked like just the kind of space our cat would like to explore. Knowing her, I could see her getting trapped down there. What to do?

Eventually Tom from the city came by to survey the damage.  

His safety cones allowed us to plug the hole with the garbage can to keep the cat out.

A little later he came back with a replacement. It weighs 90 lbs. He said the thieves get 10 cents per pound. So for $9 they were willing to put people at risk. I thought copper theft was the big thing but Tom said they have been dealing with a rash of manhole thefts for two weeks. AND it costs $125 to replace one, not counting staff time.

I already broke my wrist this week and sure didn't need yet another accident. Thanks to our safety officials, city utilities and Tom for preventing what could have been a huge shock to an unsuspecting driver or pedestrian.