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Highlands Today

Glades Electric Puts $500 Bounty On Grow Houses

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By BRAD DICKERSON

Highlands Today

Published: December 8, 2008

SEBRING - The abundance of illegal marijuana grow houses has caused Glades Electric Cooperative to take action.

The company is offering a $500 cash reward for information that directly leads to the discovery of an illegal grow house operation.

"We decided to do the bounty because the proliferation of these grow houses is just tremendous," said Paul McGehee, business development manager for Glades. "It's costing the co-op and our membership thousands and thousands of dollars. It's time to make a stand."

McGehee added that these operations can cause anywhere from $2,000 to $6,000 a month in stolen electricity. This leads to lost revenue and higher rates for members.

Over the last two years in Highlands County, law enforcement officials have dismantled around 80 of these illegal grows. One came in October, where deputies with the Highlands County Sheriff's Office found roughly 70 plants - valued at $500,000 - at a grow operation in Lake Placid.

A Glades co-op member made a call to a trustee that directly led to the discovery of an illegal grow operation that yielded a crop of over 100 plants, according to a press release. Early estimates put the value of stolen electricity at close to $50,000.

Some of the suspicious things the member noticed was the residence was maintained as if occupied, but no one was ever home during the day, children's toys were in the front yard but never any children, a continuously running air conditioner and several power blinks.

If anyone suspects an illegal grow operation in Glades Electric's service area, they can call the Power Diversion Team Hotline at 863-946-6229.

If the number is busy, information can be taken in Moore Haven at 800-226-4024, Okeechobee at 800-226-4023 or Lake Placid at 800-226-4025. The identity of the caller will be kept confidential.

Brad Dickerson can be reached at (863) 386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com

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