By Danny Valentine, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
ST. PETERSBURG — An already tough year for the Salvation Army's largest fundraising campaign in the city got a little worse Tuesday evening when someone made off with one of its iconic red kettles.
Police said an unidentified person swiped the kettle from behind the customer service counter at the Walmart Supercenter at 3501 34th St. S as the bell ringer took a break.
Inside was $200 to $250 in cash.
"This is our biggest fundraising time of the year," said Tim Gilliam, Salvation Army's area commander. "Every penny counts."
Kettle thefts are rare. In the past 12 years, only three have been stolen locally, said Michael Rojas, the church's Red Kettle coordinator for the area.
He said the theft comes at a particularly bad time: Contributions to the Red Kettle campaign are down about 20 percent from ...