Juveniles arrested in school vandalism case
Tuesday, June 30 | 6:48 a.m.
LAURA MCVICKER, COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER
Two 13-year-old boys and a 12-year-old boy were arrested this morning on suspicion of first-degree malicious mischief.
Officials believe the boys threw large rocks through a number of windows at both buildings sometime between Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. The school is at 15916 N.E. 182nd Ave. and the district office is at 17912 N.E. 159th St.
A school official estimated the damage at about $2,500.
A tip generated by a TV news story led sheriff's deputies to the three suspects. Clark County sheriff's Sgt. Scott Schanaker said the boys rode their bikes to the school when they apparently became bored and had a contest to see who could break a window.
A police report did not say where the suspects attend school.
by Oregon Webfoot : 6/30/09 9:04am - Report Abuse
I wonder how the parents of these little genuises will spoit up the cost of reimbursement for the damage? And Craig is right, they need a summer of some good hard work to keep them occupied, and tire out all that destructive energy!by K Gero : 6/30/09 9:21am - Report Abuse
All the more reason to incorporate Year-Round school with less time off during the summer breaks.Most likely they will have a very busy rest of the summer chosen by our justice system - maybe LOADS of restitution and a good penalty charged to their parents for not curbing such behavior from the start in which the boys should repay to their parents, penny by penny and ground the heck out of them, especially from each other!
Not only is it $2,500 damage to the schools, but there will be hours charged for the policing and reports, legal costs, school employees presence while repairs are being done, parent time off from work to attend justice center-related activities, community supervision costs and so on. The $2,500 is only the estimate for the damage done.
by L S : 6/30/09 10:00am - Report Abuse
Year round school may help students, but there are other considerations. When I inquired about year round school believing it would benefit my child, I was surprised to find out the two main reasons why it is not in place in my district has nothing to do with children.The first and biggest problem was that parents had difficulties engaging reliable child care when the breaks came in bursts spread out over the year.
The second main drawback was that the teachers use the summer break to take continuing education classes. They are unable to take daytime courses if they teach year round.
The three boys in the story need to face some consequences for their actions. Mummy and Daddikins with a checkbook will not drive the lesson home. One would hope that at age twelve the boys would know right from wrong. They just need to be ... reminded....
by J K : 6/30/09 11:01am - Report Abuse
L S - These are awfully odd reasons for letting school out for the summer, aren't they? The childcare thing is simply bogus . . . if there were year-round school, childcare facilities would arrange their accomodations to facilitate the school's schedule.The continuing education thing is also a farce. I really get tired of hearing about teachers' continuing education; they are not the only professionals in the world who must keep up with their education. Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, and many, many, many other professions have to keep up with their education, and none of them get the summer off for it. Yet somehow, it gets done.
Nobody will tell you the real reasons for taking the summer off . . . first, the community would oppose it. People are used to the status quo, and this would be a big change. Second, the teachers' unions. What other profession works nine months and gets paid for twelve? They've got a good thing going, and the union isn't going to give it up.
by K Gero : 6/30/09 11:10am - Report Abuse
In the 80's and 90's the reasoning for teachers to continue their education would have been understood. Now with the miracle of internet and distance learning through many universities, the teachers can study in the evenings or on their breaks via computer just like everyone else! Modern technology and the availability of classes online is making it easier for everyone to achieve educational success.by ima taxpayer : 6/30/09 12:08pm - Report Abuse
What has been gained by this continuing education? Has instruction improved to the point where SAT scores are rising? Are local students able to get into the colleges of their choice?by USMCbrat : 6/30/09 12:39pm - Report Abuse
Kids don't need year round school to stay out of trouble. They need parents who bother to teach them right from wrong. They also need consequences for their actions.by K Gero : 6/30/09 1:14pm - Report Abuse
Good point USMCbrat, but apparently the parent(s) of each child involved is either working two jobs to pay for the spoils of their children or just don't plain give a hoot.by muddy grimes : 6/30/09 4:18pm - Report Abuse
Consequences for their actions. BINGO!Parents pay the fine. No consequence to the child.
Kids spend a night or three at JD in Vancouver? its like a freaking paradise for most of them. 3 meals a day, tv, phone calls, etc etc.
A badge of honor for most of them.
I would have these kids working this off and nice good physical labor. Long days, short breaks, bland food.
by Corn Tooth : 6/30/09 4:25pm - Report Abuse
Their peepees should be immediately whacked.by curtis hutcherson : 6/30/09 4:53pm - Report Abuse
I take classes at night during the school year, and I can tell you, sixteen hour days are pretty brutal.the p0roblem with year round schooling is that it is the same amount of time as regualr schooling. It needs to be year round and teachers will need to be paid accordingly.
Year round schooling benefits low SES children the most. It has almost no effect on wealthier kids.
by K Gero : 6/30/09 5:13pm - Report Abuse
Curtis Hutcherson - your fatigue from working 16 hours a day are showing. It looks like your normal, precise keying is taking its toll. Point well taken (even though it probably wasn't on purpose out of exhaustion).by USMCbrat : 6/30/09 5:22pm - Report Abuse
muddy grimes got it in one! Those kids should be working to clean up the damage they did. Or at the very least working to pay back their parents for the fines the parents are going to have to pay.by K Gero : 6/30/09 9:55pm - Report Abuse
As I had stated before, these kids should have a very busy summer with court, loads of restitution for the school and community and be ordered -yes ordered- by the court to reimburse their parents for their actions - even if it takes the rest of their juvenile years to do this.These kids should have picked up the glass shards and been actively removing them from the premises while under tight supervision! They should be there when the district purchases the windows with their share of costs with family grocery money or the vacation trip money the families would have used to pay for their way. They should be assisting the professionals who are replacing the windows and they should be doing this all when their mommys and daddys are off on vacation at their most favorite destinations. They will owe much more than $2,500 to the school district.
This needs to be rubbed in the boys' noses and our judicial system needs to scare the living begeebees out of these boys to hopefully teach them to never doing this or any other crime ever again!
Since the parents were apparently unable to successfully teach these boys right from wrong, they should also go through counseling for parents of teens in order to learn how to recognize certain behavior patterns and nip it in the bud.
No offense to the parents involved, but this is more than just a wake-up call for them. This is NOT normal adolescent behavior to be destructive to other people's property. The damage has already been done. Crime prevention is the key and it starts at home.
by USMCbrat : 7/1/09 12:12am - Report Abuse
I couldn't agree more K Gero.My 2 year old tried to steal candy (a little 10 cent reese's peanut butter cup) from the store the other day. She opened it up and was going to eat it. She knows to ask before getting into things, especially somewhere other than home. She had to take it up to the cashier, apologize and pay for it and then I threw it away. I then explained to her that taking things from the store without paying is stealing and it's wrong. When we got home she had to get 10 cents out of her piggy bank and give it back to me, she said "mommy, I won't steal from the store anymore." Scared the hell out of her, but she learned a valuable lesson, you don't take things that don't belong to you.
It's these weak consequences that create an environment where people keep committing crimes and going back to jail. Heck, Bernie Madoff got 150 years for stealing from adults, when child molseters are back out on the streets in less than 10... What a society we live in.
by Re Le : 7/1/09 12:52am - Report Abuse
I understand everyones points. At the same time I am a parent of three teenage boys. Who at some point make mistakes and bad choices.I work two jobs and raise four children on my own and I have taught my children right from wrong but sometimes they make the wrong choice. Before you condem the parents for trying to make a better life for their children why don't you make sure that you have all the facts.As for teenagers needing to do summer jobs I wish my children could but they are out there right along with most adults applying for the same jobs. Children don't have job experience so they are less likely to get the job right now.
I do believe that the teenagers should receive punishment from not just the judicial system but also the parents.
by K Gero : 7/1/09 6:47am - Report Abuse
USMCbrat: Great point regarding Madoff and the other criminal adults!Re Le: I too raised three kids between the late 70's to the new century and nurtured them through their teen years with what I would say was pretty darned successful parenting. I agree some of our teen's choices weren't the best, but whenever a poor decision was made by one of them, we sat down and talked it out AND that teen paid for the consequences of any bad choice made. Oh did they hate whenever I would do that and it wasn't just a lecture. After a one-on-one discussion which sometimes went on for a couple of hours, I had them decide for themselves how they could have done things differently and they would have to decide their punishment ONLY if I agreed with the severity of the punishment, and it would be through 1 of 2 choices I would provide. I taught them the difference between right and wrong as USMCbrat did with her child at a young age. My adult children have been pretty darned good kids and have grown to be very responsible adults.
To be a successful parent, you have to be there for your children at all costs, whether it is missing a day of work, sacrificing certain financial perks in order to provide time with you kid(s) or whatever; but the most important functions of a parent are to ensure your child is healthy, be kind but realize you are the parent and you make the choices as they are growing up and be involved in their lives, but mostly - just be there when they need someone to talk to. Brushing a kid off is the worst thing any parent could ever do. Some day they will be all grown up and living on their own. If you do not grasp hold of the vital parent/child connection while they are growing up, you will be left scratching your head, wondering what happened when things go wrong. So many times I see in these articles "That's not the kid I raised" or "I just don't know where they went wrong - they're not bad kids..."
Being a parent is not something we inherited. It takes work - A LOT OF WORK. Listen to your kids once in awhile and recognize the signals which activate this type of behavior and act upon them immediately. Don't let the situation fester.
If you cannot find time in your busy schedule to be there for them, then don't have children in the first place.
by dbgrannie : 7/1/09 1:47pm - Report Abuse
I think the boys should have to pay for this and not there parents. I see people all the time on the side of the road cleaning up. The van say Clark County work crew, Ive been told this is people working to pay off there fines.Its easy for mom or dad to write a check but nothing learned.Make the boys learn life has a price when you do something to some one else. before they grow up.If they don't learn now when they grow up they will think they can do as they please.by delbert greening : 7/1/09 10:51pm - Report Abuse
i unfortunately grew up at a time when most families were single income. sixty years ago this was the norm. it did not take the income of one just to cover the rent. kids could have a stay at home mom. the normal income of one could support the family , that was then. some of the 'good old days were better. times have changed. but you know, i'm glad i grew up then.at nine or ten a kid could get a paper route, work the row crops in the summer. pick fruit in the fall. now that is child labor, forbidden.but it allowed us to learn self respect and with that respect for others and respect for the community. these aspects can still be taught and learned but not as easily and not as commonly.i for one feel sorry at times for todays young people, they have so much availably and given them that they are not always able to feel the pride of earning a desired something and do not always get to enjoy thrill of finally achieving possesion a wished for something. thay often have so much but enjoy so little.
by Craig Armstrong : 6/30/09 8:55am - Report Abuse
Sounds like these kids are bored with their long Summer vacation. Maybe they need a Summer job to keep them busy. At 12 and 13, they should be able to pick berries at a local farm. Or volunteer somehow in the community. Either way, put them to work! They obviously need something to do.