Thieves repeatedly steal from town's road-salt pile

Last month, The Rural Blog posted a story about one city's solution to road salt shortages and higher salt prices. But Galena, Ill., in the state's northwest corner, is finding that shortages and higher costs are not the only threat to the city's salt supply.

"The city seems to have missed three important potential sources of loss: a $131 per ton price on salt; pickup trucks; and larcenous people," writes Richard Clark of The Galena Gazette. He reports that, on at least three occasions, salt has been stolen from the town's distribution center. Each time, about a "small pickup truck load" of salt went missing. The price on road salt is currently around $131 per ton, making the loss fairly significant for the town. (Read more)