Walgreens propane policy demonstrates East Dallas’ crime problem

by Mike Orren

Thieves are running off with enough propane to cause Walgreens to stop selling it -- but only in my neighborhood.

WHITE ROCK HILLS — Last weekend, we ran out of propane for our grill. I ran down to our neighborhood Walgreens where we'd taken to doing our propane exchange, but found that the exchange was gone. I asked the store manager, and he said that they'd discontinued the propane swap because of repeated theft of tanks. People were busting the locks and stealing all of the tanks, both empty and full.

I went to the next closest Walgreens and got the same story. Curious, I inquired with Walgreens corporate office to learn how widespread the problem is. According to Walgreens corporate spokeswoman Carol Hively, only three area stores have discontinued propane sales -- all due to the cost of theft. The stores are:

• 4702 North Jim Miller Road
• 9937 Garland Road
• 2301 Lakeland Drive

This was a wake-up call for me. There are a lot of Walgreens in the DFW area -- more than 100. And some are in what I consider pretty skeevy neighborhoods.

But the only three that can't maintain their propane swap are the three closest to my house. Disturbing...

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