There's a grinch attempting to steal Christmas in Cuero, and this past weekend he came close.

On sunday morning, the December Events Committee in Cuero received a rude awakening.

"An early estimate is about $150 thousand dollars worth of damage," says publicity chair Mary Polansky.

On Saturday night, three of the hit scenes during the event suffered extensive damage by what appears to be a group of vandals.

First, there's "Sassy the Serpent" which Polansky says is a favorite among children. Two pieces of "Sassy" were retrieved from the lake, and committee members hope they can have her up and looking normal by opening day.

Then there's the paddle wheeler, in which a picture taken by Polansky on Sunday shows the top of the paddle bent in such a way that Polansky claims they can't figure out how the vandals did it.

Looking at it today, the committee has managed to rig a large part of the scene, but at least 1/4 of it remains unusable.

"It's not just the December Events Committee, or Cuero Development Corporation, or the City of Cuero. Everything has been donated," says Polansky.

Also damaged is the committee's 37-foot featured flag, which Polansky says is a total loss. An additional snapshot shows committee members pulling the tangled flag out of the lake. The flag alone will cost almost $70 thousand dollars to replace.

According to committee members, they've seen decorations vandalized and some even stolen in the past, but they've never experienced anything to this extent.

"We have had things vandalized and stolen before. We turned it into the police, and they made reports, but nothing this big. So, we will be pressing charges," says committee President Kay Lewis.



Cuero's Christmas in the Park is located off US Hwy 87S in Municipal Park. The event will go on as usual on November 23rd beginning at 6 p.m.  If you would like to make a donation to help the committee replace the decorations damaged, or if you would like more information on the event you can log on to their website at http://www.christmasincuero.com/. You can also contact
the Cuero Development Corporation at 361-275-8178.