Neighbors of Veterans School say unruly teens causing problems at night

SAUGUS – Residents living near Veterans Memorial Elementary School have had a tough time sleeping in recent days because large groups of teenagers have been hanging around the school at night.Police have responded to the school seven times since July 28, all for complaints about large groups of teens gathering at the playground and parking lot.Hurd Avenue resident Bob Belyea spoke about the problem as he visited the playground with his two young grandchildren on Tuesday morning, saying he hears the disturbances all through the night.?We hear it down here,” said Belyea. “We had a couple of nights where they rang the (door) bell on their way through at 11 o?clock. It?s aggravating. It?s not a good situation. It?s been ongoing and I don?t know what the solution is.”Neighbors also complained about teens racing their cars up and down the street, lighting fires in the garbage pails, littering the area with garbage and damaging the playground equipment.?As you can see it?s a mess here,” said Belyea, who was sitting among empty cigarette boxes and reading Golf Digest as his grandchildren played. “It?s not nice. It?s just a shame.”Ed MacKenzie has been living across from the school for 40 years,.He doesn?t mind it so much when the teens hang out during the day, but when he hears them in the early morning hours, it gets to be annoying.?It?s public property (and) they have a lot of time on their hands,” MacKenzie said. “There?s very little employment for kids. They don?t bother me but I hear them. Naturally it?s summertime and the windows are open. The worst was at four in the morning. Children are supposed to have parents and I wonder If parents are aware (about) their children not being home after midnight.”MacKenzie said it would be nice if kids had a place to go during the summer, but acknowledged the town probably can?t afford to pay for a teen center.?They?ve already done their damage with the fires and they destroyed the slide,” said MacKenzie. “The kids can punish the equipment and it will survive, but I think the kids keep testing it to see what they can break. The town can?t afford it, but I imagine there should be a central location with organized activities for school-aged children.”Assistant Police Chief Leonard Campanello said police have been increasing their presence around the area, especially at night.?Given the fact that we?ve had summertime activities down there and kids hanging around we?ve stepped up patrols down there,” said Campanello. “Our officers have been advised to keep that a priority down there so they?re in the process of taking care of the problem.”Campanello said he?s never received a call for any fires in the playground, but police responded to numerous calls over the past week, including complaints of a fight, people smoking marijuana, people lighting fireworks and vandalism when someone broke school windows with a rock. The calls generally came in between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.According to police reports, officers didn?t find any evidence or fighting or drug use when responding, but did disperse groups of teenagers as large as 30.In April, a pair of hypodermic needles were found in the playground.?I know there was some vandalism done there a few days ago that was taken care of,” said Campanello. “There was an arrest made there over the summer for graffiti. It looks like there?s been a little more activity than we?re used to down there, so we?re addressing it a little more aggressively.”Campanello said the gatherings generally start in early afternoon and last into night, which is when the police usually disperse them.But with the new school year approaching, Campanello expects the problem to die down heading into the fall.?We anticipate that it will tone down a little bit,” said Campanello. “But we?ll keep our patrols in the area until the problem taken care of.”