By JAN GRIFFEY/Editor

COLUMBIANA — It’s not yet the Christmas season, but apparently the Grinch has visited Columbiana.

Last weekend, someone made off with one of Leigh Ann Langley’s Pumpkin People, which have been part of downtown’s beautiful fall decorations this season.

Langley, who owns and operates a barbershop in Columbiana, put out about 35 of her intricately dressed and adorned Pumpkin People.

On Monday night, someone stole two stuffed toy dogs — and English bulldog located in front of Davis Drugs and a big Labrador, which was located at the corner of Main and West College. The toy dogs were props for the Pumpkin People dolls.

Tuesday, Langley began removing the dolls from downtown.

“Obviously, someone would be an idiot to put something like these out there and not think they were going to be picked up,” she said this morning. “But last year, not a hat, not a piece of jewelry, nothing was taken. This year, we haven’t been so lucky.”

Langley said she thinks it must have been children who took the stuffed toy dogs.

“Who else would want them?” she asked.

“I hate it for the rest of the town. Yesterday, when I was taking them up, a woman was walking around looking at them and she had a little girl with her. When she saw me with them, she wanted to know what I was doing. I told her and she said, ‘Oh, no! I came to town to take pictures of them with my little girl.’ So, I told her I would wait on her and I followed her around and as soon as she took a picture, I picked them up,” Langley said.

Langley, who lives in Alabaster, works all year to find clothes, hats, jewelry and other items used to make the dolls. She said it takes a full day to make one.

“I shop for them all year long. Right now, you can’t go into a thrift store and find a blue jean jacket or a pair of overalls. You can only find those in the spring and summer.”