Summer holidays are here for students of all ages and while many of them have summer jobs to help fill up their time and pocketbooks, there are some who have a hard time figuring out what to do to fill their days.
With the boredom meters rise for these individuals, it just so happens that the amount of vandalism also rises. It seems there are more and more posts on social media pages, exhibiting images of damaged, destroyed and vandalized property. What is worse is the damaged property typically is items that is there for the public to use.
Unfortunately, no community is immune to the destruction. Bell Acres Golf & Country Club in Luseland was left with broken tree limbs, damaged signs, rutted up ground and even a damaged rental golf cart. There have also been rumours going around between cattle farmers in the RM of Round Valley saying fence lines have been cut, allowing cattle to roam.
Now, not all vandalism or destruction is caused by students, there are some young adults who cannot seem to grow up. They don’t take ownership of their wrongs and lack empathy for others until something that is near and dear to them is threatened. They tend to think they can do whatever they want, regardless of how much trouble they could get into.
What I would like to know is why do things have to get destroyed? When a sign is damaged, it must be replaced, which costs money. Depending on where the sign is located, replacing the sign could be the responsibility of the rural municipality, town or province. Now, if there are multiple signs that need to be replaced due to damage, the cost is now being taken from other budgets, which could lead to increased taxes.
If we look at the golf course damage, the club will have to incur those costs. To recover the money lost in repairing everything – and there was a lot of damage – the price of golfing is going to increase as well as cart rentals. The club may also start taking deposits or photocopying driver’s licenses for all those to want to rent a cart. I’m pretty sure those who go golfing on a regular basis do not want to be treated like that.
So, how can we as community members help deter the vandals? Many of us have security cameras already connected to our homes, so registering them with local RCMP detachments can assist with any future investigations.
We have all had a gut instinct when something looks suspicious. Trust that feeling, get as much information as you can in those moments and do not hesitate to call the police. If the police can catch the vandals in the act, they can be held responsible and hopefully have the damages rectified a lot sooner.
However, if you do find yourself bored and need something to do, I am sure there are some great service clubs that could always use a helping hand or a neighbour who could use some help with a garden. But if you really need to wreck something, make sure it’s your own stuff and not everyone else's.
