Kansas City, MO (KCTV) — It was such a mean act that even Scrooge and the Grinch would blush. Thieves stole Christmas lights from the homes of several Kansas City residents, including a 92-year-old woman.
After learning about the crime, the manager of an Overland Park Nuts and Bolts store knew he had to act. So Steve Cook stepped into the role of Santa Claus and homes are now again lit up in a corner of Charlie Parker Square.
Earlier this week, residents including Willie Shelby and Corrinne Betts reported their Christmas lights being stolen off their front and back porches. Among the victims was the elderly woman known as Miss Jackson.
“When I walked out and saw Miss Jackson’s porch destroyed, I thought, ‘Who would do this to an old woman?’ She’s 92 years old,” Shelby recalled on Thursday. “Just the idea that someone would come up on your little piece of heaven and take your staff at Christmas season is very upsetting.”
But Shelby and others were incredibly touched when Cook arrived Thursday afternoon in his truck, which was filled with boxes of lights and garland from the Nuts and Bolts Store at 112th Street and Antioch Road. Cook called his corporate office, which readily approved the donation request.
“It’s a horrible thing to think that at this time of year someone would do that,” Cook said, “Especially to someone who’s 92. We thought they all deserved something. That’s why we wanted to do this.”
Betts was overjoyed and she and Cook shared a warm embrace after he helped put up her new decorations.
