Businesses aid RoboDawgs silent auction

GRANDVILLE, Mich. (WOOD) - The Grandville High School robotics team, which was robbed while at a Toronto competition last week, will hold its annual silent auction this week.

The RoboDawgs was competing in FIRST Robotics Canada, a robotics competition at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, when a truck and trailer belonging to a chaperone were stolen.

The stolen trailer and its contents, consisting of parts and components built during the last 15 years, are valued at more than $40,000, according to Doug Hepfer of the Grandville Boosters. Hepfer said Toronto authorities have not recovered the stolen items.

However, Hepfer said, the team put in long hours to replace the missing equipment and made it into the quarterfinals of the tournament.

The silent auction, an annual event, is expected to be unusually big this year. Hepfer said he has heard from at least 150 businesses asking to help in the wake of the theft.

The auction is free to attend. On display will be robots built by elementary up to high schoolers.

The auction is scheduled for March 14 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Grandville High School Robotics and Engineering Center, at 4900 Canal Ave. SW.