Talk of the Town: Hide those manhole covers, people!

What’s next?

Gathering and recycling aluminum cans is one thing. It helps the environment, and it can be profitable, too.

Aluminum is the only packaging material that more than covers the cost of collection and reprocessing for itself. It subsidizes other containers, including glass! It’s also a bonus. Recyclers paid nearly $1 billion for aluminum beverage cans last year.

But stealing and selling manhole covers. What’s that all about?

Three weeks ago, a 12-year-old girl suddenly fell into an open sewer hole in Philadelphia. Investigators say she was very fortunate to escape serious injury or even death after falling 6 feet into an open manhole, the cover of which had been stolen.

In fact, in the last year a staggering 600 manhole covers have been swiped by thieves in Philadelphia.

According to our friends at Newsweek, manhole thefts aren’t exclusive to Philadelphia.

Thousands of cast iron manhole covers in cities across the U.S. have been lifted in the past year. Chicago lost 200 in one month, with 40 reportedly taken in a single day. Seventy-five have been taken recently in Greensboro, N.C. More than 50 have been stolen in Long Beach, Calif., since January.

The cast iron covers, which typically weigh between 100 and 200 pounds, are being taken by tricky thieves responding to the increased value of scrap metal and the exploding demand for recycled metals in China, India, South Korea and other developing nations.

In 2001, scrap metal sold for $77 a ton. In 2004 it was $300 per ton, and today it’s nearly a whopping $500. Stealing the covers is usually a two or three-man operation, police say, in which the thieves yank the covers out of their holes with crowbars, throw them in the backs of vans or trucks, and take them to scrap metal yards, where they get only $10 to $20 per cover.

Replacing a single manhole cover costs as much as $500, including labor costs to cut the new cover in addition to the cost of materials.

This epidemic is not just limited to manhole covers. It is tied into the overall problem of theft of recyclable metals such as aluminum, copper, stainless steel, brass, and others—all of which have increased in value as demand has risen. Virtually anything containing recyclable metal is at risk of being stolen—from catalytic converters in cars to copper pipes in homes. Even beer kegs. The beer industry estimates that it is losing some $50 million in stolen stainless steel kegs every year.

Earlier this month, the Green Valley Elks Lodge #2592 hosted the parents and families of the youth who were this year’s winners of the Youth Activities Program.

Elks Youth Week, May 5-11, kicked off with the lodge hosting an awards picnic under the direction of Cheryl Ponzo, youth activities chairperson.

According to Carol Sturdevant, Elks public relations chair, this event was very important because honors young people “our nation’s greatest resource.”

“Elks strive to support these youth and help give the guidance, encouragement, and inspiration which will help them develop the qualities of character essential for future leadership,” Sturdevant said.

Winners from the Elks Soccer Shoot-out at the honor’s event were: Katie Maynard and Connor Young, along with Elks Soccer Shoot-out chairperson, Jack Najar.

Hoop Shoots winners at the event included: Austin Palminteri, Sabrina Montoya, Jessica Watson, Chase Verdugo, Conner Verdugo and Eric Gomez.

Elks scholarships went to Kathryn Bruno, Emily Tingle, Matthew Enriquez, Olivia Waskin, Jennica Tessendorf, Christopher Harrison, Stephen Meyers and Richard Bosse.

Drug Awareness winners were: Emily Bickerdike, Noah Jackson, Victoria Zebb, Amanda Wunder, Malcolm Ross, Karissa Lechman and Dawson Schiff. Elks Drug Awareness Chairman Jack Ponzo was on hand to congratulate the group.

Phyllis Curran, Green Valley Elks exalted ruler congratulated Max Klahr, a recent Continental School graduate, for winning the Americanism Essay Contest.

Five generations of wonderful women had much to celebrate recently. The youngest of the five, Macy Van Vleet was born Jan. 28, 2006, weighing only three pounds, 11 ounces. She had a tracheostomy tube for 16 months and was unable to talk, learning sign language instead.

Although her family said she was able to communicate, now at age 2, she has made remarkable progress, weighing almost 20 pounds and talking, eating and playing like a normal 2 year old.

Her mother Kristen Van Vleet, is an elementary school teacher residing in Indianapolis, Ind.

Kelli Taylor, Kristen’s mother, resides in Palmetto, Fla., but also spends her summers at their home in northern Indiana. Kelli also worked as a teacher in Palmetto.

Bettie Randle, is the mother of Kelli, and has been a Green Valley resident for 12 years, enjoying golf and bridge in the retirement community.

Helen Green is the senior “queen mum” of the women, and will celebrate her 92nd birthday in July. Helen was born and raised in Indiana and also lived in Anaheim, Calif., for 30 years. She has lived in Green Valley for the past 10 years.

The Valle Verde Rotary Club won a clean sweep of the Rotary District 5500 Speech and Essay contest in Tucson, May 17. The Rotary District 5500 consists of 55 clubs from Casa Grande to the north, Nogales to the south, Yuma to the west and Sierra Vista to the east.

The first place winner in the speech contest was Sahuarita High School senior, Nicole Paulos.

The essay winner was Dianna Jones, also a senior from Sahuarita High School.

Each were awarded Rotary medals and checks for $500 each. Each of the contestants had previously placed first at the local Valle Verde Club competition, winning $250 each.

Taking second and third places at the local competition were Sahuarita High School students Emily Tingle for essay and Matthew Enriquez for speech.

rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740