Lincoln teen’s Christmas decorations stolen, two men pay it forward

"It was kinda like they were the Grinch, they just took everything and didn't care that I did this all myself and spent my own money on it."

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A local teen spent her hard earned money on some Christmas decorations, only to have them stolen from her yard. Now two men are paying it forward.

Christmas time is 14-year-old Bobbi-Jo Jones favorite time of the year. She has been saving up every penny these last 12 months to buy everything from string lights to candy canes to make her families front yard festive for the holidays.

“Christmas has always been a big deal for me, I have always planned throughout the year like what I am going to do for decorations wise and I always save up allowances from doing chores around the house,” Jones said.

But all of her Christmas spirit was crushed on Monday. When she left for school that morning the decorations stood tall, but by the time she got home later that afternoon, thieves took all of those decorations in broad daylight.

“It was kinda like they were the Grinch, they just took everything and didn’t care that I did this all myself and spent my own money on it,” Jones said.

Bobbi-Jo isn’t alone, Terry Selvage had his festive decorations vandalized by thieves just several weeks ago. The community came together to support him so he wanted to return the favor. Selvage surprised the teen with $210 dollars in cash, double the value of what Bobbi-Jo lost originally. He said it’s important for her to build it back up, and this time even better.

“I won’t let an act of vandalism stop me and you can’t either, you need to just jump right back in,” Selvage said.

For Bobbi-Jo’s mother, it proves there are good people out there.

“It makes me emotional,” Katy Jones, Bobbi-Jo’s mother said. “Salvage will always hold a special place in my heart now.”

But wait there is more, Bobbi-Jo has tried for years to get her home on the Phillip’s Lincoln Lights Facebook page, a map of all the best Christmas decorations in town. Channel 8 News reached out to Phillip himself, and he is going to make that happen.

“It’s always been a big dream of mine because I love Christmas and I like decorating for the young kids because I used to be that little girl that loved going around with family and watching the Christmas lights and I still do,” Jones said.