Wheels returned to senior center in poor condition
Karen Peterson photo
The Meals on Wheels car was damaged beyond repair after it was stolen two weeks ago.
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ST. IGNATIUS – The Meals on Wheels car was found abandoned on Old Freight Road two weeks after it was stolen from the Senior Center parking lot.
“A local person recognized it on the side of the road and called the Lake County Sheriff’s Department,” said Mack McConnell, vice president for the Senior Center board.
The burgundy 1990 Pontiac Bonneville was towed in last Tuesday morning in poor condition.
“Our hopes were high that we could use it again until we saw it,” McConnell said. “It was already not in good shape, but we could use it to deliver the meals. Now, it’s not usable. It’s badly vandalized.” Part of the dash was torn off to hotwire the car. McConnell said the way the thief or theives they hotwired it, the car starts with a pull of a wire. They broke out the headlights, took the jack and the spare tire, ripped out the speaker and took the license plate.
“And for some strange reason, they took all the papers in the glove box,” he said.
A mechanic assessed the damage.
“It’s going to cost more to fix it than it’s worth so we decided not to fix it.”
McConnell felt the theft went beyond someone simply needing transportation.
“For whatever reason they took it, I think part of it had to be meanness. There was no reason to punch out the headlights. The stuff they took could be used but they didn’t need to vandalize it. We don’t know who did it, but the Sheriff’s Department dusted for prints.”
Patrick McGreevey volunteers his time to deliver the program’s meals to aging people in need. He was hoping the car would return in good condition so he wouldn’t have to climb in and out of his personal gas guzzling truck on the two-hour delivery route.
“It’s sad that someone would do that to that old car,” he said.
The Meals on Wheels program might not be left without a ride.
“We have two parties talking about donating vehicles,” McConnell said. “It will be great if that works out. We will have so many possibilities and ways of helping people (if we get) dependable transportation.”
