Vandals keep hitting beach café
No matter what security systems are in place, thieving vandals keep breaking into Jasmine Greens Park Kiosk at Umina Beach up on the central coast of New South Wales.
Somehow, they get past the alarm, locks, CCTV cameras and the patrolling security company.
They have managed to break into the place six times over the last four months.
And they’ve left behind a massive amount of damage.
They have kicked in roller shutters. They have also forced locks to access an electrical meter box which they turned off, cutting power to the cafe’s 13 fridges. In addition, yellow graffiti tags have been sprayed on poles and roller shutters.
The actual thefts from the eatery weren’t that big: coffee grinders, a few Coronas and some Cornetto ice creams.
But the vandals still did their damage. The place had to be cleaned up and the building restored.
In the end, it was all too much for owner Gabby Greyem.
In her anger and frustration, she posted images of the damage on Facebook. Maybe there might be a parent or someone out there who might know a young person who used those particular tags or came home with yellow paint on them.
She said she got all sorts of messages of support following the Facebook posts.
And she got from people seeing yellow spray paint at Alma Ave near Woy Woy South Public School.
“It takes days to clean up and it’s a bit demoralising,” Greyem told the Daily Telegraph. “It’s hard to smile at your customers when you turn up to this.”
“We’re just a sitting duck at night time because no one’s around.”
Ironically, it comes at a time when Greyem is reaching out to young people. She is planning a special four-week barista training program for disenfranchised young people on the peninsula or students at risk of dropping out of school.
She plans to team up with the PCYC and local high schools to find candidates who would end up with a certificate, a reference and “real skills” when they finish the course.
“There’s a lot of kids who feel there’s not much opportunity,” she said.
By Leon Gettler, 4th May 2016
