Camera to watch over boy with boot

The Boy with the Leaking Boot will have a new partner watching his back when he returns to his home in front of the Franklin Street fire station.

Horgan Sales and Service, Inc. has donated a camera surveillance system to watch over the statue 24 hours a day. The system consists of a color camera with close-range lens, a monitor and a time-lapse video recorder.

The project's main objective is to deter future acts of vandalism on the statue. That 100-year-old statue was decapitated by a former University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point student in June of 1998. That incident was the second act of vandalism against the statue in 10 years.

In its history in Stevens Point, the statue has repeatedly been vandalized. There are only 10 of the statues left in the United States and repairs have proven costly.

Live video from the surveillance camera will also be featured on Horgan's Always There Cam Network, which can be viewed on the company's Web site at www.horgansales.com. The statue will be featured on the site for eight to 10 weeks once it is back in place.

Horgan Sales and Service, Inc. is a locally-owned corporation operating under third-generation ownership. The company is a full-service provider of electronic protection systems and alarms.

(Stevens Point Journal -- April 14, 2000)

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