Good kids gone bad - part 1

BY AMY SMITH

“I sprinkled porno flyers all over someone’s lawn.”

“You what?”

“I sprinkled porno flyers all over someone’s lawn. Like, it was covered in them.”

“Okay, where did you get the porno flyers?”

“Well, then we’d have to name names….”

This was the abnormal start to a very interesting conversation with a group of otherwise ordinary teenaged boys. The topic: vandalism. And these boys - my schoolmates - had stories to tell.

“I mixed up dog shit, eggs and these shitty berries we find at the park into, like, this mixture and I just poured it all over someone’s driveway and car.”

“One time, a friend and I went into the drugstore and stole a box of condoms, pissed in the condoms, tied them up and just, like, we’d go downtown and open car doors and just, like, chuck them into the cars. Sometimes, they wouldn’t break, which is maybe even more funny.”

This roused laughter from the entire group.

Sitting around the basement coffee table, I wondered how many people knew what kind of boys did these sorts of things. When I had walked in, the detritus of a recently rolled joint was being cleared from the table where a baggie sat casually. In the course of conversation, some of the boys left twice to get liquor: not a single one was of legal age. These, however, are good kids.

It’s easy to imagine scoffs at this statement but, by community standards, these pot-smoking, underage-drinking, troublemakers are who we want our daughters to date and our sons to be friends with. They play high level sports, achieve excellent marks and are leaders in our schools. They’ll most likely grow up to be successful - just like their professional parents.

So why are good kids, kids who so obviously know the difference between right and wrong when it comes to school, social situations and dealing with adults, vandalizing property?

Drugs, alcohol and an attitude against authority are typical answers, but the guys say that that isn’t it. In their own words: “Stoners don’t f--- shit up, they’re just too lazy.”

However questionable, what the boys had to say about alcohol was interesting. While they agree sometimes their vandalism is done under the influence of alcohol, all say the bulk of their petty crimes occurred before alcohol had ever touched their lips. The condom assailant committed that offense at the age of 14; the rest of the gang agreed their work was done as pre-pubescent pranksters.

“Back before we started drinking, we did a lot more. We just had nothing to do.”

More than anything else, boredom was pinpointed as the cause for most of the vandalism these boys committed. While no one condones underage drinking, teen partying does provide entertainment every weekend for those who attend and, according to the boys, those who are entertained aren’t those who are vandalizing.

“I never did it during the school year, ever, I only did it during the summer and it was during the night when I’d just be wandering around with people and we were like, ‘what the f--- are we gonna do?’ and then we’d just be, like, ‘hey, let’s go to the store and just buy some shit and make a mess of someone’s house.’”



Community, church would rather welcome tormentors

BY WENDY ELLIOTT

Kings County Register

The good folk of Centreville Baptist Church can turn the other cheek.

They are, however, frustrated after eight break-ins and thefts.

Rev. Marc Potvin first noticed a window broken on the secluded west side of the church.

"They did not get in. That was close to a year ago."

Pastor David Woodworth says the first sign of forced entry was stolen apple money.

"My New England Patriots clock and $40 or $50 disappeared off my desk."

Kerr says a rash of break-ins like this had never occurred. The congregation installed additional lighting.

"The second time,” Potvin says, “they forced the emergency doors."

A pattern developed: few visible signs, but a door would be forced. An expensive projector stolen.

"That shows a degree of consciousness," notes church member Roy Kerr. "Whoever it was, we should give him a key to the church. Maybe we could help him.”

Woodworth responds, "That's why the church is here. Each one of us has a sinful nature that works in us. There is no hope outside Christ."

Potvin feels the culprits may be someone the church cared for, or has a connection through the family or the community.

“We were never ransacked.”

Then, the valuable old church bell disappeared off the front lawn. It had great meaning for older members, having belonged to the earlier church.

"It was a crime of opportunity taking it off the pedestal," says Potvin.

The same day, the church was told where it might find the bell. It had been sold for several hundred dollars. About a week later, they had the bell back, this time safely stowing it away.

Ironically, the Centreville congregation is busy building a gym, in part, for young people. Woodworth works with 34 youth in Grades 7 through 12. They meet Monday nights.

"We attract a wide range of kids. They're not the best kids always or the worst of the worst," he says.

A parent himself, Potvin adds temptations like drugs and alcohol confront most youth. Drug paraphernalia and needles have been found in the community’s park.

"That is part of the motivation for the gym - so we can offer programs and the youth group has space. We dream of lots of things it'll be used for."

Kerr, who has lived in Centreville for 15 years, says growth hasn't changed the village. Potvin says families are changing - and so is the role of many parents.

"Yes, you've got lots of working mothers today. Do kids feel like they belong?" asks Kerr.

"I think, in many cases, a sense of perimeter for them is gone. Often, they push the rules - they go too far away from the right path. That's not unique to this community.”

Potvin can only speculate about the motivation behind his church’s tormentors. No arrests have been made for the church’s incidents. In April, three youth were picked up on 30 counts of mischief and vandalism complaints - including an outbreak of mailbox vandalism, arson and graffiti at the village post office, community hall and one business - in the village itself.

Kerr doesn't find the incidents inexplicable.

"It's not senseless if it's a cry for attention. These are people who need help and, as Christians, we should try to help them.”