Minions of mayhem put to shame by Takahue tenacity

HEART AND SOULDIERS: Some hard-working children help out with painting over graffiti on the walls of the changing rooms and Moerua Park during the Takahue rugby club's working bee on Saturday.

The saying the devil finds work for idle hands can certainly be applied to Kaitaia.

The Far North town has been overrun by dysfunctional behaviour for as long as anyone can remember and the general perception is that the daunting number of burglaries, graffiti and other forms of vandalism which have become an all too common occurrence - and which cause a incredible amount of angst within an otherwise hard-working and good community - are mostly committed by misguided youth from the wrong side of the tracks.

One could almost imagine the locals as having become accustomed to waking up at the start of each week ready to be greeted by further misdeeds which redefine the term 'wilful damage'. However, nothing prepared Takahue rugby club stalwarts for the sheer scale of wanton destruction inflicted on their clubrooms at Moerua Park over the summer break.

The defacement had been discovered by council workers completing maintenance rounds during the 'off-season'. Promptly advised, club officials arrived to the heartbreaking sight of a clubhouse all but destroyed.

External damage included extensive tagging, a litter of glass from smashed beer bottles and weatherboards torn off. Inside was a similar, if not even worse scenario of mayhem with all the internal doors smashed off their hinges, the long tables used to serve food at the aftermatch stolen, while the hot water cylinder had been ripped from its fixings which left running water everywhere and resulted in a significant area of the floor suffering water damage.

Club spokesperson Karen Lucich said the Takahue fraternity immediately called an urgent meeting, where it was decided the only course of action was to tackle the problem head-on starting with a working bee on Saturday. The event was announced in last Thursday's Age, and organisers were very happy with the eventual turnout despite it being such a busy day in town including the Kaitaia A&P show happening next door.

"Amazing. We made an awesome start. So stoked with what we all achieved in that one day. People just worked non-stop ... " she said, noting, "You don't often see 13- and 14-year-olds washing windows."

The project was extensive and on-going but should be completed before the season begins as various people and tools became available. Singled out for special praise were two local businesses that provided material for the repairs by donating timber, weatherboards and paint etc, as well as the FNDC for connecting the club to the town sewerage system and removing a large volume of illegal dumping.

Also acknowledged for coming out to lend a hand on the day was Chris Murray, who said he wanted to give something back to the club where his daughter Krystal, who now plays for the Kiwi Ferns women's rugby league side, began playing JMB rugby.

The input at both business and individual level at least provided positive reaffirmation for the club of the incredible level of support out there by those who simply refuse to stop believing in the true albeit yet-to-be-realised potential Kaitaia holds.

"There has been a lot of time, love and sweat go into this place in the past. Our children gain so much from being involved in a team sport - fun, friendship, teamwork, confidence, exercise, skill development, discipline, role models, leadership and more - and they need this and we want to make it happen for them.

"We are for the kids, for the community. And having us in the competition makes for another team to play against. The kids need it ... " she said, trailing off. It was left unsaid, but the main concern was that without sport to fall back on, the local children risked ending up being sucked into the same trap of mindless vandalism which had possessed certain mischievous minions to cause so much damage within their own community in the first place.