Burglars hit Kauai middle school
The Kapaa facility is vandalized and its computers are stolen
KAPAA, Kauai » Burglars broke into Kapaa Middle School over the weekend, setting off fire extinguishers and stealing about a dozen computers, officials said yesterday.
"It's a devastating blow," said William Arakaki, Kauai complex area superintendent. "The entire (seventh-) grade level will be impacted."
The thieves broke into the library in the seventh-grade pod Sunday night, spraying fire extinguishers, and then stealing the personal computers and DVD players from the seventh-grade computer room.
Principal Nathan Aiwohi estimated the burglars caused between $23,000 and $25,000 in damage and missing equipment.
"The hardest thing to deal with is the damage they did to the library," said Aiwohi. "Every book has to be vacuumed, every chair."
The computers, Aiwohi said, were just a year old, and it might take a while for everything stolen to get replenished.
Still, "we have a good year planned," Aiwohi added. "We're not going to let (the incident) deter us."
Crime Stoppers has offered a cash reward of up to $1,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest. Callers can remain anonymous. The phone number is 241-1887.
Anyone with information also can call Kauai Detective Carl Oliver at 241-1682 or police dispatch at 241-1711.