Christmas lights cost the City of Clanton a total of $3,832 last year. Crews are already at work putting up the 80-plus light fixtures, and the city will flip the switch on Thanksgiving Day.

Each fixture has an average of 78 bulbs, meaning there are more than 6,300 decorative bulbs illuminating the city’s streets from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.

“The electric bill definitely goes up on us,” Street and Sanitation Superintendent Dale Collins said. “Most of our lights stay on 24/7 when we plug them up.”

Electricity used to power Clanton’s Christmas lights is not metered but rather measured by the watt, Collins explained. Each bulb in most of the fixtures is 5 watts.

The decorating seemed to be going smoothly until Collins found out that one of the most recognizable fixtures had been destroyed.

Apparently, someone ran over the train light fixture in Clanton City Park with a vehicle.

“I went up there and somebody just smushed it,” he said.

The Clanton Christmas Parade is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. Lineup will take place at approximately 4:30 p.m. in and around the ball field parking lots at City Park.

More detailed information will be released at a later date.