How The Squirrels Might Steal Christmas

You’re a mean one, Mr. Squirrel.

There’s a strong possibility there will be no Christmas lights dangling from the trees and shrubs on Glenwood’s Town Square this holiday season unless private donations can be secured to replace several strings of lights eaten and damaged  by hungry squirrels.

Glenwood Public Works Director Perry Cook informed city council members of the Christmas light situation at a meeting in late October, noting squirrels have been eating away and damaging the electrical wiring on Town Square holiday lights for the past few years.

“The coating on the wiring is made from some type of corn-based material,” Cook said. “They bite one area and then go down the line and bite other places.”

Whenever possible, Cook said public works employees have made repairs to damaged wiring, but the situation has reached the point where there aren’t enough lights left to adequately decorate the trees and shrubs around Town Square.

In addition to the squirrel-damaged tree light wiring, many of the snowflake lights placed on the antique light poles no longer light up.

“Those are just old and many are burned out,” Glenwood city clerk Angie Winquist said. “We just don’t have enough to put around the square to make it look nice.”

With no funds in the city budget for Christmas lights, Mayor Brian Tackett told council members he would like to see if any businesses or private donors are willing  to purchase new lights this year, at least enough to light the large evergreen tree on the southeast corner of the square. In recent years, the Glenwood Area Chamber of Commerce has sponsored a holiday sing-along and lighting ceremony near the tree to kick off its Home for the Holidays celebration.

Chamber executive director Linda Washburn said a lighting ceremony is “up in the air” at this point, but other activities on Dec. 1, including Santa’s arrival, will take place at the Bloom Senior Center.