Thursday morning Chad Havens was looking at KOGT.com when he read a story about a theft at a church in Mauriceville. It didn’t take him long to decide what he wanted to do.
“These people are giving their time and talents to help people in our area who have had damage from the storms. And they’ve come from all over the country. The last thing I wanted was for them to leave with a bad taste in their mouths about Orange County,” said Havens who owns Bridgefield Electric.
Havens met a volunteer group from U.S. MAPS (Mission America Placement Service) at Home Depot in Orange and basically let them go on a shopping spree, replacing the more than $7000 worth of tools that were stolen from the Mauriceville Assembly of God Church on Hwy. 12.
Norman Knoodle with US MAPS said some of the volunteers, who are staying in RV’s on the church grounds, lost everything they had to work with and that some of them had been handed down from family members.
“We appreciate Chad so much for allowing us to continue God’s work,” Knoodle said. Pastor JR Armstrong concurred with Knoodle. “Mr. Havens is one of many great people in this community. We appreciate him stepping up and it will not be forgotten.”
Detective Janois Grizzaffi with the OC Sheriff’s Department told KOGT Thursday afternoon that she felt good about a few leads they have received about the theft. Hopefully they’ll be some more good news to report about this shameful crime.
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