Youth center
languishes after
games stolen
Fewer children now come to
By Harold Morse
the Waialua center, which
depends on donations and volunteers
Star-BulletinNintendo computer game consoles were stolen from the Waialua Youth Center in late October and that has hurt attendance.
Bev Rehkemper, who runs the center with her husband, said some kids still come and have snacks, but they're bored without free computer games to play.
"Before the Nintendo systems got stolen, we were up to 60 coming through in an afternoon," she said. "Now we're at about 25 to 30."
The center has some older game consoles and some others that were donated but all need repair.
"We're trying to figure out where to get them fixed," Rehkemper said.
The center survives on donations and needs help now.
"We could even take donations of machines that work because we've got the games," she said.
The center, in the Waialua Market Place, lost about $1,000 worth of recently acquired Nintendo 64 TV game consoles, controls and games in a burglary.
"It was very disheartening to the kids, the fact that somebody would just come rob a youth center, one of many thefts out here in this shopping center in a short period of time," Rehkemper said.
She said the games attract youths to the center, where they are encouraged to do their homework when not playing at the machines.
"We were donated a Sony Play Station, but we don't have games, and it also needs repair," she said.
The center is open weekdays from 2:15 to 5 p.m. except on Wednesdays, when it opens at 1:30 p.m. It started in 1994 and depends heavily on volunteers.
"We couldn't do it without everybody who helps," Rehkemper said.
Anyone who would like to help can call the center at 637-8553.
