SUTTON- Nearly 35 feet of copper piping was stolen from the Freewill Baptist Church on the afternoon of Friday December 2^nd. The theft caused a propane leak in the church and cut off heat to the building.

After smelling the gas, people inside the church called the Sutton Fire Department. "We responded to the church, and found that there was a large volume of propane odor in the area," explained Sutton Fire Chief Alan Seymour. "We set up one fan blowing into the church and one blowing out to draw out as much of the propane as we could."

Not only did the Church loose the copper piping, but the propane tank also leaked out most of the 500 gallons that it contained.

Town Clerk Debby Ogden says that this incident is just the latest of a string of crimes that have been occurring in the small town. "A lot of stuff, break-ins, and a lot of copper's been taken elsewhere.  It's just horrible"

Anyone with information about the theft can contact the Vermont State Police at 802-748-3111 or the Northeast Kingdom Crime Stoppers at 802-748-2222.