Grinch Steals Holiday Lights

Betty Wright got a very unwelcome surprise when she checked on the holiday lights on the tree in the Common today.

A real-life Grinch or Grinches had stolen about 300 bulbs from the string of lights, which remains on the tree year-round.

Bulb sockets on the strings of lights near the bottom of the tree were destroyed. These lights were targeted, she suspects, because they are more easily accessible from the ground.

Wright, the town’s recreation director, was checking the lights with a crew from Sunshine Sign earlier today when the vandalism was discovered.

The tree will be illuminated Sunday evening as the culmination of the annual Grafton Celebrates the Holidays event.

She estimates that each bulb costs 27 cents, in addition to the cost of replacing entire strings. The lights are in the department budget and are paid for by taxpayers.

But an intangible loss comes with the sense that someone would target a beloved holiday tradition, she said.

“It’s for the kids,’’ she said.

If the tree were not lit during the holidays, “they would be the ones who would suffer,’’ she said.