"Every time I take a walk through downtown or Heritage Trail," said Shepard, "I see countless shoes dangling from the power lines. Several pairs of shoes just hanging there with no feet in them. I'm going to do the city a favor by cleaning them up and giving them to children."
The suggestion was met with widespread praise throughout the area.
"There's been a pair of shoes outside my apartment window for six years," says Wheeling resident Helen Sawyer. "I used to just watch them sit out there during the thunderstorms, and now my little boy gets to wear them. It's beautiful."
"After school, my friends like to go to the store down the road to buy candy," said 12 year old Michael Freeman. "But I can't go in because the sign says 'No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service'. But I can go in now!"
The Salvation Army told us that each pair of shoes will come with a complimentary can of Febreeze to deal with odor problems. They also announced plans to set up a marketing campaign to spread word. NBA All-Star Lebron James told reporters that he received an endorsement.
"I really respect The Salvation Army and what they're doing for the kids," said James. "It's a great opportunity for them, and a little extra spending money in my pocket."
James later tweeted saying that he will wear a pair of power line shoes during every game of the upcoming season should the NBA lockout subside.
While the program will help shoe-less children in the short run, Shepard told us that the real intentions of the program are to promote safety.
"Unfortunately we will run out of shoes, and yes, we are going to prevent new shoes from getting up there in the first place," Shepard said. "The shoes get up there because kids like to play on the power lines. They fall off and their shoes get caught up there. We're going to stop that."
The Salvation Army and AEP are working together to install railings on every power line in America.
