Public's help requested in stopping school thefts

SALT LAKE CITY — Granite School District officials are asking for the public's help to keep on eye on their neighborhood school after a series of break-ins and thefts of copper and brass on school district property.

Seven schools have been targeted within the last week, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage, Granite spokesman Ben Horsley said. Granite High School had $2,000 worth of copper wiring stolen from its football stadium — which resulted in more than $27,000 of damage to equipment — and other copper thefts occurred at Brockbank Jr. High and Gourley Elementary.

Brass fixtures were stolen from the Jones Center at the Hartvigsen School and Orchard Elementary. The sprinkling system at Penn Elementary was vandalized in an apparent attempt to steal a $400 brass valve. Horsley said it is assumed that the thieves abandoned the valve when they could not control the flow of water.

The Jefferson Jr. High air conditioning system was also targeted by a break-in but no damage was reported.

All of the incidents are believed to have happened at night. School officials are asking the public to report any suspicious activity at school district facilities to law enforcement officers.

— Benjamin Wood