Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Extensive Vandalism Found At Villanova Prep

Suspects named, arrests expected soon

By Sondra Murphy

Renewing a football rivalry can be good for a small town like Ojai, but the return of Villanova vs. Nordhoff competition has also brought out an unpleasant side in a few people.
Vandalism against Villanova Preparatory School's quiet campus in the early hours Friday morning has the valley talking about the spray painting of a statue of St. Thomas and other destructions perpetrated. Extensive graffiti insults referenced NHS and the football game and Villanova's pool and football field were also damaged.
Sheriff's Detective Mark Burgess said Monday that, contrary to rumors circulating throughout the community, the FBI is not involved in the investigation and it is not considered to be a hate crime. As many as eight suspects have been identified as participants in the vandalism and will be interviewed later this week. Details were not released pending inquiry.
"We were investigating the whole thing on Friday," said Nordhoff High School assistant principal Susana Arce on Tuesday. "We're letting the police take the lead because it is a criminal investigation. Today, the detectives are on the way up from Ventura. We do intend to see that justice is done. No one is trying to sweep anything under the rug. The school will act appropriately."
Burgess said Villanova officials would determine what legal action is pursued. "It will depend on what the prosecution wants," said Burgess. "We want to investigate kids who are possibly involved and see what their part is and then see what Villanova wants to do."
Materials used in the vandalism were salt, manure, bleach and paint — -notably Nordhoff's colors of blue and gold. Most everything had been cleaned up by Monday and no permanent property damage was reported.
"We were appalled by what we saw and ashamed that anyone from Nordhoff was involved in this," said Arce. "I can tell you there are some very ashamed students and parents. We talk to the kids about pranks, especially around the end of the year. We tell them things that start off as kind of a joke can end up being very damaging. This is really ugly."
The disappointingly puerile incident taints an otherwise healthy competition that culminated in the first cross-town football game in 33 years and brought the community together at Ojai Valley Community Stadium to root for their teams.
The type of paint used on the statue is proving troublesome to remove. "It looks like they used an oil-based paint that leached into the marble of the statue and the blue tinted into the marble," said the Rev. Gregory Heidenblut, Villanova president. "It's just a statue, but to us it's very special. It could be compared to how we might feel if someone desecrated a statue of Abraham Lincoln."
Nordhoff's athletic director contacted Villanova Friday offering help in cleaning up the mess but, according to Arce, was told the Villanova campus staff had the cleanup under control. "It was a gesture of good will," Arce said.
Heidenblut said that they were initially most concerned with the safety of students in light of the graffiti subject matter. Particularly upsetting to the Villanova population were the sacrilegious comments left about Jesus Christ and Jews. "If someone is capable of doing this, are they also capable of doing violence to our students?"
Security had been arranged for the 131-acre Villanova campus and school officials are looking into what broke down. Heidenblut said that they, too, are waiting for police to finish their investigations before deciding what action they would like to pursue. "On Friday, when we talked with our students, our headmaster handled this very well. We prayed for the students, faculty and families to start a healing process. The whole community is affected by this unfortunate incident."
Still, Heidenblut is optimistic. "From the first minute, the olive branch was there between (Nordhoff principal) Mr. Musick and me," said Heidenblut. "We're thinking of ways to put this behind us now and how students can learn from this experience. I truly believe that good will come out of this. I hope that this will be a thing past and Ojai will never experience this kind of thing again."

73 comments:

Anonymous said...

This just makes me sick. I hope that they catch these ignorant people and make them stand on the side of the road in front of Villanova with signs "I'm Ignorant and I will do the yard and lawn work for Villanova for the remaining school year, so that all will know who I am". How humiliating that would be and a very good leason.

Anonymous said...

HAHAHAHAHA This is so funny! I have heard that "NHS" was also burnt into the grass of their football field with gasoline!! The only way they will get caught is if they were dumb enough to buy the paint in Ojai!!!

GO NORDHOFF!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Read today's Ventura County Star article on the vandalism. Football was not the theme of some of the vandalism. "F*** Jesus Christ", swastikas, and pictures of penises were painted on statues of the saints, potentially making the perpetrators guilty of a hate crime. This was a shameful, disgraceful act of destruction. I hope that those responsible understand the magnitude of their offense and step up to accept the consequences.

B. Beckett

Anonymous said...

Hate crimes carry a pretty hefty penalty, I understand. I hope they throw the book at these people, and I hope their names are printed in the news stories after they are arrested, minors or not.

B Beckett's comment suggests info that was not contained in the Star. The Star did not mention the F Jesus Christ and penis aspect of the story. The Star DID say the authorities know who the idiots are who did it, so the person who made the second comment may well be laughing out of his/her hind side if he/she was involved.

Anonymous said...

What a sad, sad story. I too read the story in the Star and saw where they said they know who did it. I would expect to see a story here soon announcing the names of the arrestees.

Brings to my mind the lack of security on the Villanova campus. Must have taken these punks awhile to create that much damage. Seems like a boarding school would have roaming security at least at night.

Anonymous said...

Just read the story in the Ventura paper and just about gagged when I read that S. Arce thinks maybe they should just let this blow over. My ass!

Anonymous said...

Why are they waiting so long to arrest those involved if they know who they are as claimed in The Star? Or are they bluffing, trying to get them to admit?

Anonymous said...

comment from earlier "Seems like a boarding school would have roaming security at" This is not a prison school. We are not in Los Angeles. The punks who did this are jelouse of the villanova kids as they come from better homes and are more intelligent. They will get caught as kids will talk . So just sit back relax .

Anonymous said...

Is that where you learned to spell jelouse?

Anonymous said...

HAHA! GO NHS! VILLANOVA DESERVES IT - THEY HAVE ENOUGH $$ TO FIX IT SO WHO REALLY CARES!

Anonymous said...

I feel sorry for people so twisted to believe this was just a fun prank. There was a lot of hatred towards God as well as vile racial attacks. This is beyond the prank stage - this is a hate crime, plain and simple. Although this is very disturbing, know that this is only a few trouble-makers who do not represent the character of students who attend Nordhoff. For the good of the community, I hope that these vandals are brought to justice and explain their motivation to be so hateful and hurtful. It seems thatonly through being caught will they have a chance to reform.

Anonymous said...

Tar and feather time!!!!

Anonymous said...

Freakin you betcha! The act of these few people have cast a pall on the whole student body of Nordhoff and they need to man up and explain themselves and remove the shadow that is hovering over the 99.9% of the rest of the kids.

You know damn well with as many as there were involved in this caper their identities are known and they will pay the price. Start subpoenaing cell phones.

Anonymous said...

If this happened all the time in Ojai that wouldn't be good and we would want to really punish the perps to stop the rampant ,, but maybe that other person is right . We should just let this blow over. I think its just a little funny. It has to be a youth. Which kind of adult would have the energy to head out to Villanova with cans of paint in the middle of the night?

Anonymous said...

besides , they could have been Villanova students trying to screw the NOrdoff students. Ya never know

Anonymous said...

They have reported that THEY KNOW WHO DID IT! They HAVE to punish them. If they do not, it will be like inviting it to happen again. Maybe Arce suggesting they let it blow over is doing so because she knows the parents?

Anonymous said...

Arce doesn't want this to dent NHS reputation. It's obviously a couple of low-lifes. The Blue and Gold paint is completely fine.. and maybe some minor pranks, but whoever did it went too far. It's not like it's Oaks Christian or anything, no need to go over the top. Were not even rivals.

Anonymous said...

It's Ojai... you can't hide who did it. Half of NHS knows. a rat will surface.

Anonymous said...

they have to prosecute those responsible. to not would be condoning the act and it would be a slap in the face to the kids who were not involved.

Anonymous said...

Mrs. Acre, needs to wake up. Get real lady and take responsibility for what these students have done and punish them. They went WAY to far!!

Anonymous said...

Everyone knows that only the local trash that can't afford one of the many private schools in Ojai are stuck at Nordoff. It's the cesspool of the Valley. What do people expect from little juvenile scumbags?

Anonymous said...

HAHA! GO NHS! VILLANOVA DESERVES IT - THEY HAVE ENOUGH $$ TO FIX IT SO WHO REALLY CARES!
October 5, 2008 5:05 PM

And this author’s life options are go to:
A. Iraq
B. Work at 7/11
C. Live at home and watch TV.

Anonymous said...

Let’s face it; both of these schools are full of the “privileged” kids in the 805. Regardless of parent’s income, these kids aren’t inner-city hard-core gangsters or carrier criminals. If you can afford to live in Ojai or send your kids to Villa Nova you are probably better off than most Americans. Although I do appreciate some healthy school spirit and a good (harmless) prank e.g. Cal tech and MIT, defacing religious personal property and painting anti-religious slurs are unacceptable behaviors. The thing about Ojai is that it is so small and regardless of school affiliation, some one will “spill the beans” and the responsible parties will be ousted and ostracized. Using a blanket policy to punish these kids with a hate crimes statute isn’t the answer. The administrations from BOTH schools should decide the punishments. Going on a case by case basis depending on the student might be the best approach. I would hate to think that a budding student that made a really poor decision in high school would have a permanent mark on their record. If the perpetrators aren’t current students, well that’s a different story. I am glad that Villa Nova now has a football team, perhaps in a few seasons there will be an inner city rivalry, a rivalry with good harmless school spirit and some funny amusing pranks, nothing destructive or ant-Catholic or anti-Christian. I remember when Santa Clara would come to Nordhoff to play basket ball in the 80’s we, the student body, would hold up newspapers like we reading and uninterested when the announcer would introduce the apposing team. Harmless, kinda clever and no one got hurt and nothing destroyed. At my college alma mater, the student body would shake their car keys at the opposing team when the game was in hand and yell “go start the bus”. Perhaps the new NHS football coach along with the VNHS coach could hold duel conditioning practices this summer with both teams to promote some healthy team spirit and address the “us and them” attitude. I guess in a nutshell what I am trying to say is that this incident doesn’t need to ruin any child’s future because he/she made some really poor decisions due to some misplaced school pride. Perhaps this could be spun into something positive. If this was just some gang of thugs looking to destroy some property, throw the book at them, but some overly spirited student I think deserves some leniency and perhaps some forgiveness like Rev. Gregory Heidenblut alluded to. Of course I am biased I went to Nordhoff.

Anonymous said...

"Everyone knows that only the local trash that can't afford one of the many private schools in Ojai are stuck at Nordoff."

Actually, I believe that more of those people go to Chap.
And I'm not trying to stick up for Nordhoff, believe me I hate it here; but just because Ojai is filled with a bunch of rich ass stuck up artists who can afford to put their kids into any school they want, doesn't mean that there aren't actually people who WORK THEIR ASSES OFF to try to just get by; and so they don't HAVE a choice. They can't afford it. And even if the schools offer a scholarship; for some reason they only seem to offer partial scholarships to the kids whose family can't afford to pay for the damned rest.
Anyways; my point is that not all of us who can't afford some rich fancy school, and have no choice but to go to Nordhoff, or Chap even, are horrible people that would do such a thing as this.

Whoever did do this, needs to find something better to do with their time. I mean honestly; over half the people that go to Nordhoff seem to be Christian as well; they just go to a private school. And I know a lot of kids over at Nova, and they aren't Christian or Catholic, they are going because it's a nicer school, they can afford it, etc. So the hate crime of "F*** Jesus Christ" (I also heard there were some "F*** God" as well but I'm not sure if that's true or not) actually becomes kind of pointless. Still rude, but pointless.

Anonymous said...

If this act of vandalism is treated casually by the school district, it may well lead parents to vent their frustrations by voting against Measure P. This has to be dealt with appropriately and the responsible parties punished.

Anonymous said...

Most of these people bashing NHS really have no clue what really went on and what led to this. I'm not defending what they did but you should know Villanova students are not innocent in this. Sending taunting text messages to NHS football players and students, even going as far as to say disrespectful things to nordhoff coaches. The "students" that did a majority of the spray painting were not even students. They were kids that were older and had graduated in previous years. So don't go blaming this enitrely on NHS sudents, true the one that were involved made mistakes and took it to far but don't put sole responsibility on them.

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear they are older "kids" so that there will be no problem printing their names when they are arrested!

Anonymous said...

I am glad to hear some were not students so that wing nut Arce cannot be in control of their destiny. Not sure if she could even be in charge if they ARE Nordhoff kids, come to think of it. Did not happen on her campus on her watch. I hope it is out of her hands. We all know her judgement kinda sucks.

Anonymous said...

I would say kids did this. One of the biggest troubling things about this is: how have the adults in this community failed( be it parents, teachers or whomever) in not getting through to at least this suspected groups of kids in teaching them that vandalism, graffiti(both obscene and racial) aren't okay in today's world. Shame on the perpetrators especially, for maybe they haven't been paying attention. By the way, the security guard Villanova hired that night was asleep on the job during the "incident". Great if the Headmaster of Villanova wants to "turn the other cheek", but it seems the guilty must "atone" for their sins against our community. There are great kids out there who are respectful, helpful, engaged and interested. They occupy the same schools, community and space. I want to know, what's the difference between their upbringing and that of this group of (expletive deleted by OVN).

Anonymous said...

So there WAS a security person on duty? We are assuming he is unemployed today?

It was said earlier that those involved need to be punished...to ignore the situation as Arce suggested would be a slap in the face the to the overwhelming majority of kids who were NOT involved in this escapade. We would have to agree, and it seems as though the comment before this one contains a slight hint of the same thought, that there are way more good kids than the few that did this caper.

It was also stated in the article in the Star that the culprits are known. We hope the OV News does not make us wait until Wednesday to read the news of an arrest if there have been any.


Any updated info, OVN?

Anonymous said...

Well this could be a warning to Oaks Christian! And a plan for the culprits of this act. Go and paint Oaks Christian blue and yellow!!!

Sorry to say for the little tweaker sag bag arcy that this is not in her hands.

Yes maybe the ones responsible will get a few fines, and maybe probation but they will not be punished at school by sag bag arce...

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAH

Anonymous said...

"Everyone knows that only the local trash that can't afford one of the many private schools in Ojai are stuck at Nordoff."

Just because you go to a public school doesn’t make you local trash. First of all just to be living in Ojai means your well off and many kids don’t want to go an even smaller school were even more people know everything about you, besides Nordhoff probably has some of the best student athletes in town as well as great academics and extra curricular activities.
Don’t blame the Nordhoff student body for what a couple of kids did.
Its not fair and it isn’t right. 99% of the students at Nordhoff felt horrible for what happened.
We shouldn’t be trashing either school. What kind of a message are we sending.
The only people to blame are the people who vandalized, they were the ones who committed the crime let them take sole responsibility for there actions and stop using NHS as a scapegoat. Villanova and Nordhoff are great schools with great kids don’t let one event caused by immature kids change that. Your only making the "us" and "them" situation worse.

Anonymous said...

It is my hope,( tho sadly based on observations over the years of how things work (or do not work) here ) ... and it is just a hope, not necessairily a realistic expectation that the authorities in Ojai will 1. fully and vigorously investigate 2. discover catch arrest and publish the names of those involved 3. hold these criminals criminally and civilly liable 4. expel them from Nordhoff (that means they do not come back "expel" not" suspend") 5. and treat this like the hate crime it is. But Arsi wants it all to go away so knowing Ojai and how things go, thats probably what will happen. This is a real test for the police in Ojai -- we are all watching. Maybe if they cannot be effective and do their jobs, the FBI can help -- after all -- it is a hate crime. And how about some real honest reporting from our paper?? dump the political correctness and report the facts. Come on Ojai, lets step up to the plate and do whats right.

Anonymous said...

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Arce CANT DO A THING. Only the police can which means the school was not responsible for the students at that time!

Anonymous said...

then she should not make sweep under the rug comments -- those students responsible should be expelled -- she could help with that couldn't she??

Anonymous said...

absolutely they should be kicked out of that school forever!! also parents of these hoodlums should have to make restitution ie pay back villanova for every penny of damage and cops should check their birth certs etc to make sure (dont take parents word for it ) and check to see if they are 18 so they can be tried as adults and names published. we need to shut this type of behavior down NOW

Anonymous said...

As a person who works with Mrs. Arce in dealing with our community's youthful miscreants I have to say she is nothing if not proactive and aggressive in finding perpetrators and making people pay. She often helps me identify photos taken of taggers, vandals and trespassers and doesn't take any guff. I met with her this morning and got the low down on what happened and what's going to happen and I can assure all you happy bloggers that it won't be pretty for all those who have already been caught, meaning: arrests and restitution. Don't be so quick to slam some one who actually gets stuff done. She may not be the police but she works with them very closely because she's so well connected to who's who and what's what. She does a lot of leg work(her job) and the cops do theirs--it's a useful partnership. If we didn't have Mrs. Arce and the campus cop there would be a lot more running amok around here. The real trouble is not with Mrs. Arce and her Star quote, but with the kids who did this and their parents.

Anonymous said...

so is she going to see to it that these criminals (these are felonies and hate crimes) are going to be expelled???. answer the specifics -- ARE THEY GOING TO BE EXPELLED?? give the names to the paper to be published and be specific about what the penalties are. tell our paper to print facts not bla bla bla about your experiences with Ms. Arce. STATE EXACTLY WHO WHAT PENALTIES WHERE THEY WILL GO TO SCHOOL NOW (PRISON??) WHEN WILL THE TRIAL BE SO WE CAN ALL ATTEND AND WHY DID THE FOREGOING TAKE SO LONG (guessing it will) prove me wrong and REPORT ON WHAT YOU HAVE DONE AND WHAT IS BEING DONE no more bs about other stuff

Anonymous said...

First of all, for everyone that thinks that kids that attend Villanova are wealthy, you are all terribly mistaken. Yes it is a private school but that does not mean everyone is loaded with money. It makes me sick to my stomach to read some of these comments from people in the Ojai community. Private school or public school, no school deserves to experience this. This is taking the school rivalry thing above and beyond acceptable. This just proves that Nordhoff is a school meant for idiots who have no goals in life. Clearly the kids involved in this have no future and are jealous of the success that comes from Villanova. I can only hope that the kids involved get caught and receive the harshest punishment possible. For Arce who wants to let this blow over, well I can only hope that that woman can come back to earth and realize that this is something that should not "blow over". And for everyone that thinks this is funny, wake up. It's sad that there are people stupid enough to laugh at such a severe act of crime. Therefore, go Villanova for proving yet again to be more intelligent than Ojai's sad ol' Nordhoff. But then again, Nordhoff has always been the school filled with dumb asses

Anonymous said...

Agreed ..It is ignorant to excuse criminal behavior by a pathetic attempt to categorize the financial status of students. Villanova has some weathly families and some poor ones just like Nordhoff.It also has something Nordhoff does not have: Villanova has a value system based on Christian principles and rules and boundries that they actually enforce and a dress code and attempts to create an environnment which does not lead to the type of behavior exhibited by these Nordhoff students. They also have parents with rules and boundries for the most part. Lets stay on track to wit:these were Nordhoff students, not Villanovas who committed these heinous acts . What was done was horrific, offensive and speaks volumes about what must be occurring in the homes of these kids. Their parents should be ashamed and must pay back Villanova for the disgusting acts of their progeny. Let us stay focused: Lets not forget who did the crime and who should do the time.

Anonymous said...

I agree that the acts were awful, and those involved should be punished to the full extent, but to lump all of the kids at Nordhoff into the Dumbass category is ignorant and extremely narrow minded. Lets say there were eight kids involved, which means there were maybe a thousand who were not? Overwhelming statistics favor the good kids who were at home under that watchful eyes of their parents.

And to say that just because a kid goes to Nordhoff, he or she is destined for failure is pretty ignorant. A classmate of mine from Nordhoff is a doctor practicing in this town. Another is an optometrist. Another served in the Peace Corps. in a third world country. Another died serving his country in the military. Several are teachers right here in this town. Another is a police officer in this county. Another is an attorney in this town. Another is a prison guard up north. And on and on. And, by the way, I know of a couple of Nova grads who have fallen on the wrong side of the law.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous, October 6, 2008 8:52 AM

"Let's face it." That is my introduction, but in your case I will allow you to use it. Your arguments are based in logic and sharpened by the cold steel of a hardened blade to cut to the heart of the matter. I am glad to see that my writing has had an influence on you. I encourage you to keep at it. Hard work pays off in the end!

I recommend that you continue on the path of reason, steering clear of whiny, emotion-based responses; those are the tactics of the weak and feeble minded. Continue to stand for truth and justice, just as I have and you will succeed.

Remember, as the great Les Stookey once espoused, "logic, like mathematics, possesses not only truth but beauty, a beauty cold and austere like that of sculpture."

Anonymous said...

My opion is Susan Arce is a B_tc_

Anonymous said...

For those of you who have missed this salient point, a lot of how far punishment will go with these kids rests with Villanova since they are the aggrieved. Everyone is getting their panties in a wad about what Nordhoff will do. I imagine they have helped identify and question the suspects and they will do whatever is legal for them to do. Also, patience to you who think this is a CSI re-run, it takes a few days to interview, talk to lawyers and parents to effect the best punishment and course available--and that takes a little time. Of course to some of you, if you were in charge by golly, you'd take 'em out right now and hang 'em! Yep, that's what you'd do...those "experts" just don't know what they're doing! But you do!

Anonymous said...

Reading these posts saddens me --so much hatred and prejudice toward teens and their families (not to mention school officials) based on what school they attend. Isn't it this kind of ill will that inspired the vandalism? I wish all could have witnessed the NHS-VPS football game Friday night, not necessarily the action on the field, but what was taking place off the field. The students had a great time cheering their home school and visiting with each other. Most Villanova students that live in Ojai are friends with Nordhoff students, and vise-versa. For most teens in Ojai, the petty hatred for each other is nothing but myth.

Anonymous said...

Well, I never thought I'd see the word "great" used in the same sentence that mentioned Les Stookey. He was the textbook case of a tenured teacher who was putting in his time until he could retire. Oh, the stories I could tell about what went on in his class, but those would be off-subject!

Anonymous said...

Well, I never thought I'd see the word "great" used in the same sentence that mentioned Les Stookey. He was the textbook case of a tenured teacher who was putting in his time until he could retire. Oh, the stories I could tell about what went on in his class, but those would be off-subject!

Anonymous said...

Well, I never thought I'd see the word "great" used in the same sentence that mentioned Les Stookey. He was the textbook case of a tenured teacher who was putting in his time until he could retire. Oh, the stories I could tell about what went on in his class, but those would be off-subject!

Anonymous said...

Let’s face it James Hatch, (keep working on sharpening up your (mental) skills and perhaps one day the OVN might let you do some volunteer work. Last I checked you hadn’t copy righted that phrase so you’re fired, or is that copyrighted?) Propaganda is the systematic attempt to influence the thinking of others? Ring any bells? Works on several levels huh? Punish the guilty accordingly and keep to that matter at hand. By blaming Nordhoff, you are attempting to blame the entire Ojai Valley school system, you can't hold all of Nordhoff responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole Ojai Valley? And if the Ojai Valley school system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, James - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. You James Hatch are on double secret probation.

Anonymous said...

Is this all the information the Ojai Valley News has about this act of vandalism. For example: Why is this not a "Hate Crime"? Are these Nordhoff students a few bad apples or are they ASB members and student leaders? Were they all students and minors? Are they currently suspended and will they be expelled? Please try to provide your readers with some real news about this event and ask the school district officials and police some indepth questions!

OVN administrator said...

We have asked in-depth questions, and will provide in-depth answers when they are given. It is not, as stated, being investigated as a hate crime. Understand that police investigations take time. If you have information about this crime, not hearsay, please provide it to Mark Burgess at 646-1414. We will publish information about this case online and in print when it is verified.

Anonymous said...

I too am wondering why this situation is not being investigated as hate crimes. A little research tells me the acts are hate crimes, whether intentional or by ignorance. I am anxious to know, but understand that an investigation of this magnitude must be done correctly and thoroughly. I trust the OVN will be forthcoming with more info as they have it, verified and accurate.

Thank you, OVN, for the update and explanation.

Anonymous said...

we hear there have been arrests

Anonymous said...

Now that there have been some arrests, will anyone be surprised at how quickly these kids have retained defense lawyers.

OVN administrator said...

As of 4:27 p.m. Friday, no arrests have been made in this vandalism case, according to Ojai Police Chief Chris Dunn.

Anonymous said...

I predict they will let this all die down and nothing is going to happen to the little f-ers.

Anonymous said...

Yes it seems odd that the investigation is going so slowly despite the claim that Nordhoff officials know who the students are and yet nothing seems to be happening. One would think that the School District would want to be out in front of this investigation, especially with the proposed tax increase of Measure P on the Nov. 4th ballot.

Anonymous said...

Ironic that we have children of VOCAL schoolboard members that were arrested. Mrs. Smith....who are you passing judgment on now?

Anonymous said...

OVN Administrator....have there been arrests???

Anonymous said...

Hmmmmmm...sounds like the cat is outta the bag!

Anonymous said...

So all is quiet when a school board member's son is involved with these heinous acts of vandalism. If this is true then the board member should resign immediately because of the obvious conflict of interest and the potential violation of the public trust.

Anonymous said...

My, but this has quieted down fast. Surely there must be SOME sort of news to report.

Anonymous said...

If this had been a group of kids from the wrong side of town no doubt they would have all been expelled and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. However that kind of justice may interfere with these kids college applications.

Anonymous said...

Do you think the smart guys that defaced the religious statues will do well in county jail surrounded by Catholics?? "Hey, amigo, what are you in for?" "Oh, I drew a penis on a statue of a saint at a religious institution" "QUE"!?

Anonymous said...

HEY, IF WE DON'T SEE INDICTMENTS, AND PROSECUTION SOON WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE HAPPY CAMPERS....THIS COMMUNITY DEMANDS JUSTICE.

Anonymous said...

They are taking turns holding up the edge of the rug while the others man the broom.

Anonymous said...

This whole thing stinks.

Anonymous said...

Hey OVN how about an update. There must be something going on with this case. Does the OUSD have any comments? Is it true that a school board member will resign? Are the students currently suspended? Have there been any arrests? Lots of talk in town, but where is the official investigation at? Thanks for keeping your readers informed.

OVN administrator said...

Information on student suspensions and the ongoing police investigation will be posted online later today and in Friday's print edition.

OVN administrator said...

Seven suspects suspended:
http://ojaivalleynews.blogspot.com/2008/10/nordhoff-suspends-seven-suspected.html

Anonymous said...

Privileged or not, it's the meaning behind the vandalism that truly hurts. There is much to clean and replace, which will take manual labor and monetary funds that should not have had to be used in this way. The world lacks empathy, and this is especially seen here in some of these uncaring responses. Respect has gone out the window. :(

Anonymous said...

Yawn!

Get a life, you wussy!

Anonymous said...

Wow, sure a lot of contentious, angry jerks for such a small town.