We saw you, our neighbours saw you. We will watch for you, the cops and the fire departments are watching for you.
But I’d like to address the parents of the three teenage boys who so wisely started a fire behind Hawthorne School on Wednesday night at 12:45 and threw fireworks into said fire which subsequently launched at the houses backing onto the schools property. What a fantastic job you parents have done raising your sons! Worst case scenario is that they only would have burned someone (perhaps my baby daughter or our elderly neighbour) to death in their sleep.
I can only hope that one day at least one of you parents has to deal with one of your sons blowing their own hand off with one of their precious fireworks. Maybe then you’ll realize teaching them a little respect and responsibility might have been worth your while. —Neighbourhood Watcher
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2010.
Why didn’t you call the police immediately? If you are a witness to a fire, and if said fire happened to spread to your house, and you did not report it, your insurance company will NOT pay out.
Hi there Sebastian,
We and our neighbours did call the authorities immediately after being woken up by the fireworks starting to go off. None of us witnessed the fire being started as we were sleeping, like most people in middle-class working neighbourhoods are in the middle of the night.
I should mention the operator on the phone and response time of the police and fire teams were great. The officers were thorough and followed through with what information we could given them from watching the boys in the school yard and the direction they ran off in.
– Neighbourhood Watcher
what is wrong with children these days?!?!? geez.
is there really so little to do that they’re pyromaniac-ing it up?
Why the eff would you blame the parents? People are soo quick to do that! You think your daughter won’t ever do something stupid when she gets a little older? Nooo she would never sneak out.. It’s thinking like that that makes kids feel like they can do shit like this and get away with it! Blame the KIDS, they did it, not the parents who were probably also sleeping.
Hi there melectric,
I know kids do stupid things, I did many in my youth too. Even at her young age our daughter has learned about action and consequence i.e. a screaming tantrum means we leave the playground. However my parents along with many others I know managed to raise their children with the understanding that a) you don’t play with fire – it’s dangerous to yourself and others and b) respect the space and belongings of others.
Parents (and I am of the mind a parent is any one in charge of bringing up a person yet to reach legal age) are responsible in raising a healthy, socially aware and responsible person who will contribute not detract from our world. Children do not raise themselves, we are not born with the knowledge of right and wrong in our genetic make-up it is something we are taught.
We of course hold the three boys responsible for their *actions* but I am entitled to my opinion, especially as a parent myself, that the responsibility to prevent these actions lies with the adults rearing (or the lack of) the children.
If you would like to defend your statement of this belief leading to children believing they can get away with putting neighbourhoods at risk I am interested in hearing it.
What’s wrong with a swift kick in the behind? That’ll fix some punks.
Parents can only do so much. Unless you personally know these parents and know them to be neglectful, it’s pretty unfair to put the blame on them.
Also Neighbourhood Watcher, I don’t think you phrased it as your opinion in the bitch.
Hi hollah!
Aren’t all the “bitches” written as individual opinions formed on individual observations?
And I do agree with you, parents can only do so much, but are you really going to press that parents aren’t able to teach their children that lighting fires in residential spaces and throwing fireworks into that fire is wrong? Because it’s not some hellish, third-world post-apocalyptic society ruled by anarchy we’re talking about…it’s urban Dartmouth.
Again, the boys are responsible for their actions the parents are responsible for not teaching them to know better.
Wow, it is surprising here that so many want to jump to the defense of the parents who are obviously neglectful.
Children should not be out at that time of night period.
I am of the opinion that when a child makes a criminal offense that the parents names be put in the paper. Children and people in general need discipline. We desire it growing up and into adulthood.
Parents can spend a lifetime telling their kids not to do things – some kids can only learn the consequences of their actions the hard way. I don’t think the parents are faultless, but seriously, what parent doesn’t teach their kids that it’s not ok to play with fire? And even if they didn’t, what school says it’s ok? These kids just need some hash punishment.
That should say *harsh* punishment. Not hash. I doubt hash would help them much 😛
Neighbourhood Watcher,
I understand what you are trying to say, but there are a hell of a lot of things that parents can and do teach their kids about that are wrong and even dangerous and kids just do it anyway. So yes, the parents have the responsibility of teaching their kids right and wrong when it comes to fire safety etc., but you don’t know that the parents didn’t do that in this case; they may have and the kids may have just done it anyways… happens all of the time.
mmm hash…couldn’t hurt
I have a different opinion than some of you. Maybe it will change in 18 years, maybe it won’t – this is how I was raised and my parents were unwavering in their parental belief of actions and consequences. We feared *their* finding out when my brother or I did something ridiculous, not the police, not the neighbours, not our friends etc etc. Now being a parent myself I appreciate how hard they worked and the responsibility they took on to keep us on the straight and narrow.
If any of you know the parents of the boys who lit the fire and the fireworks, then I understand your defense of them but now it’s your responsibility to aid in putting a stop to dangerous activities in our neighbourhood.
Who should be responsible to punish the boys for their behaviour? I say the parents, as they are initially responsible for bringing these individuals into the world in the first place. Where the parents fail, the community steps in but only after the parents acknowledge their failure.
I find it hard to believe boys who would do these things have ever learned about actions and consequences in the first place.
it’s fucking little idiots like this, that make me believe in abortion.hang the little fucks when they get caught.
I’m the trouble starter, punking instigator.
I’m the fear addicted, danger illustrated.
I’m a firestarter, twisted firestarter,
you’re the firestarter, twisted firestarter.
Kids these days! Obviously listening to too much Prodigy. No wait, I was a kid listening to this song all the time and the only stuff I ever burned was cardboard boxes, ants, and clothes. I lit my hair on fire a few times too and thought it was really cool.
..and it obviously did you no long term harm Q. After all, you’re hanging out here, with the rest of us well-adjusted types >: )
Being “Urban Dartmouth” and all, you’re lucky they weren’t throwing amunition in the fire…what’s with all the flying bullets on the dark side? Glad I’m on the sunny side!
lorilulu,
http://www.halifax.ca/Police/PoliceReports…
Crime seems pretty balanced on both sides to me. In fact the latest shooting report is located on Barrington St.
I’m glad I’m on the “dark side”, where we could afford a cute house in a good neighbourhood (why do you think I’m so irate about these boys starting fires? it’s not a typical occurrence) convenient to beautiful places are parks like Shubie park and the Alderney library and walk to get our groceries and fancy lattes without putting ourselves and our daughter in mortgage purgatory for the rest of our days?
What’s really sad Q, is that you refer to listening to that album as “when I was a kid”.
You think that this fire was bad? Go visit some of the suburbs. Hell, go to places like Sackville. The Darkside is nothing to those places.
I live in the same neighborhood as Neighbourhood Watcher and I have to agree I never feel unsafe walking the streets day or night. Never have. I’ve lived in that area all my life, so perhaps that is why I’ve never had any problems. In fact my son goes to Hawthorn, as did I when I was a kid!
Pyro kids have been around for a long time, when I was a kid I knew a few, and yes they started fires in the dumpsters behind Hawthorn School! It is out of view of the street, relatively sheltered, and therefore invites this kind of activity. Along with drugs, drinking, fireworks, you name it lol.
I can guarantee if the HRSB put up a video camera (or a real looking fake dome type one) on the back of the school this kind of activity would be curbed quite quickly.
hope the kid gets their hand blown off hmmm… that’s a fairly harsh life lesson methinks 🙂
martym,
It’s a bitch and I am/was a little cranky – it made for a very long night, immediately followed by a very long workday. I am with dartmouthy, cameras or even motion activated lights would have deter any silly children and their penchant for burning stuff.
Believe me N W I don’t begrudge you any bitch involving kids and illegal activity; shit once some little punk asses broke into my rest. at like 2 am an by the time i was done with the cops and VIA rail (place was in a train station) it was 5 am and back to work in a couple of hours; was only mildly critiqueing the severity of the payback is all 🙂
I can be a little dramatic when perturbed haha.