HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2009-11-25, Page 2as Int b.% 'i;J`(4 ;y.•4. (•a...•t11 • .•.4*. •._01 nry• �! i..
Page 2 The Huron Expositor • November 25, 2009
News
Ongoing vandalism has Seaforth couple at their wits' end
From Page 1
On other occasions, lawn
ornaments have been stolen,
their truck has been broken
into with the truck stereo
and some prescription sun-
glasses stolen.
The most serious incident
happened last August when
their front door was kicked
in and $7,000 of electronic
equipment and six rifles
were stolen from the house.
That time, the police came
and investigated and two lo-
cal youth were charged and
found guilty.
But, the couple is frustrat-
ed that the vandalism and
theft just keeps on happen-
ing.
"There is a small element
in town I call the drunken
horde. They're loud and ob-
noxious:. and they don't care
about anybody," says McGil-
very. "Seaforth is a really
nice town but this is inces-
sant."
"I hate to point the finger
at kids because I don't think
that every teenager is a bad
teenager," adds Beasse. •
The total damage caused
by the seven incidents goes
into the thousands of dollars
and the couple says it's hard
to claim the losses to insur-
ance when the individual
incidents aren't that expen-
sive.
They also complained to
town hall and were told by
the clerk -administrator that
he'd ask the Huron OPP to
increase their presence in
town.
Both Beasse and McGil-
very are at their wits' end
and don't know what to do.
"We've thought two or
three times about putting
our house on the market
and getting out. We've also
joked about putting infra red
sensors on the house and a
SWAT team on the roof,"
says McGilvery.
Const. Joanna Van Mierlo,
of the Huron OPP, says that
while , she un-
derstands the
frustration
of the couple,
such incidents
are difficult for
police to deal
with.
"They
requested
patrols and
we did pa-
trol but we
couldn't
find any
groups of
kids," she
says, add-
ing that
even if they
did, there's
little the
police can
do without
evidence
tying some-
one to the
incident.
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Mierlo.
Beasse and McGilvery are
both involved in Scouts and
are frustrated that there
aren't more activities for
teenagers in Seaforth which
might prevent such vandal-
ism from happening.
"The town could rent one
of the empty storefronts and
invite the youth
to come and
contribute what
they want the
space to look
like," suggests
Beasse.
"They could
get .a Trillium
grant and hire
staff to run it
from '6 p.m. to
midnight every
night," adds
McGilvery, add-
ing
g>r
that drop-
in centres for
youth in Mitch-
ell and Kincar-
dine are very
successful.
They say it's
possible other
homes are also
being targetted
and wonder if
it's necessary
to form a Neigh -
•4
Ve
resort
times about
putting our
house on tai+
market and
getting out.
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We've also
joked about)ri
putting • pa
red sensors'''
the house and a
SWAT team on
the roof,'--
Alex McGilver
She adds
that it's important to re-
quest that an officer come
to your house when you
make a call to the police
if that's what you want
since the police are very
busy.
"We get plenty of calls
about people wandering
the streets at night but
it's like finding a needle
in a haystack. Each in-
cident on its own is very
difficult 'to solve," she
says.
Van Mierlo says in-
stalling outside lighting
to dissuade anyone from
skulking around at night
and video cameras to pro-
vide evidence for police
might both be helpful.
"I know it's frustrat-
ing and I can see why
they're ready to pull
their hair out," says Van
•
bourhood Watch
program in Seaforth.
They also wonder how par-
ents don't notice that a doz-
en eggs are missing from the
refrigerator or wonder where
their kids are wandering at
night.
"There needs to be a town
response so kids have an op-
portunity to do things that
are healthy," says McGil-
very.
Van Mierlo says she's un-
certain about whether Sea -
forth has more incidents of
mischief and vandalism than
other communities in Huron
County.
"It could be on par or a little
higher - it's certainly there.
You often hear of youth com-
plaining there's nothing to
do and sometimes creating
your own fun means doing
something at someone else's
expense," she says.
•