Log in & Sign up
You are not logged in.
Most Commented
Community centre targetted by vandals
Pierrefonds centre had windows smashed, building damaged
Patricia Enborg
The Gazette
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Boards cover the windows to protect them from being smashed again.
They started by throwing eggs at the building. Then, paintballs were the weapons of choice, followed by marbles shot from paintball guns.
For a year and a half now, the OnRock Ministries’ building on St. Charles Blvd. in Pierrefonds has been the target of vandals. The charitable organization runs a food bank, a school lunch program and a drop-in centre for youth called The Vault.
OnRock president Kim Reid said the vandalism escalated last summer when several people in a car shot marbles into all three front windows. Reid and his staff called the police but were told there wasn’t much they could do.
Several weeks later, the vandals returned and shot again, this time shattering the glass in the front windows.
“Before we could get the wood up on the windows, they came by again and that’s when they shattered the glass door,” Reid said.
Once again they called the police but were told to come down to the station to make a report.
They replaced the broken windows, but the expenditure has had a large impact on their finances.
“We’re really struggling financially right now. To be spending $1,500 on a set of windows you didn’t need to spend $1,500 on is a huge dent. It basically means other bills aren’t being paid, which is obviously not the appropriate way to operate,” Reid said.
To protect the windows, the staff puts wooden frames over them each night before they leave.
The building has continued to be hit with paintballs.
Reid said he and his staff can’t understand why OnRock is being targeted.
“We’re here for kids. We’re here to be a resource to the community,” he said. “It’s not like we stand against anything in the community.”
He also questioned the lack of help from the police.
The head of nearby Montreal police Station 3 said he plans to investigate.
Commander Michael Chartrand said he’ll also be sending in a team of police officers whose specialty is to investigate and do long-term problem solving.