Alas, STaRPO

After shedding dry tears over Chalan Kanoa STaRPO’s latest carnage Saturday morning, (did the wet variety after viewing the empty spots where musical instruments used to be shortly after New Year’s Day), I attended a board meeting at Pacific Gardenia, then returned to the Parent-Teacher Center and took photos for the paper. I “secured” the facility once more, making sure that the doors were bolted and the window glass louvers were all in place. I turned on all the outside lights hoping that it may deter the vandals/burglars from intruding once more. I went home and wrote an article that made the Monday edition.

Saturday, the night visitors struck again. Up to this point, the burglars had taken everything of value save the computers. On Sunday afternoon, I went back to the Center to clean-up the books and papers strewn all over the place. A bed mattress that folds into a divan was spread out on the floor by the office, obviously slept in. I then noticed that the computers were missing—two iMacs and one 7500 Power Mac. Still serviceable, they had not been used for a while. The intruders even took time to play with a bundle of long chopstick-like sticks, throwing them like darts on the window screens, causing a couple of louvers to break. We finally called in the police who came and took pictures, and noted the description and value of lost items. (I mistakenly reported the third computer to be a Gateway PC rather than a Power Mac thinking that I took the Mac to school instead of the PC. It’s the other way around.) Though it feels like this is securing the barn after the horses had bolted out, at least, the burglary/theft is now on official record!

The transient nature of many of the residents in the community does not lend itself to close neighborhood relationships, nor is it easy to organize a neighborhood watch system. Members of one family who live next door were left homeless after the last devastating typhoon so they had to live elsewhere for a while until they rebuilt their home. They used to look after the place and once called the police over the presence of a few suspicious teenage boys and girls lingering in the area. They are resettled now, and this time, they reported two young men coming in and out of the place during unseemly hours.

Not having much time to go around pawn shops to check on the possible disposal of the missing properties, the following representative list may alert those who might be offered items at bargain basement prices: Yamaha keyboard, red multi-gear bicycle, Panasonic TV, Pioneer VCR, Golf driving iron (special metal), assorted carpentry and machine handtools, Black and Decker electrical drill, two portable electric fans, assorted clothes and fancy jewelries, two aquamarine iMacs, and one 7500 PowerMac. Or, if any neighbor who notices human presence in or around the facility after 9:00 p.m., calling 911 would be appropriate. DPS case # is 06-001963.

Meanwhile, the parents of children with autism who have use of the facility, will continue to meet at Town and Country restaurant, 2nd floor.

Jaime R. Vergara
STaRPO custodian