Teenagers say sorry to council after reign of 'chaos' in Gwendraeth Valley village
THREE members of a group dubbed "the Pontyberem Four" have apologised to councillors after they were said to have caused chaos in a Gwendraeth Valley village last month.
The group of troublemakers were given their nickname by members of the community council at a Pact meeting two weeks ago.
Now three of them, who allegedly took part in a series of incidents in the village in September, have met with council members to explain themselves.
The trio are alleged to have climbed up onto the stage lighting at the memorial hall and damaged Christmas bulbs outside. They also tampered with an electricity box in the village, council members claimed.
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Escorted by PC Tony Davies of Cross Hands Police Station, the trio sat in front of council members who questioned them on why they had decided to cause trouble in the village.
They told councillors they were "bored", but added they were sorry and "wouldn't do it again".
Chairwoman Dorothy Jones said: "Do you like making your mam and dad unhappy?"
The teens — who cannot be named for legal reasons — said they did not, and it was then that members suggested the group of teenagers could get involved in the village environmental group, in an attempt to cure them of their boredom.
A previous council meeting heard some of the parents had been to the hall to apologise — but it was not until this week that the youths themselves had apologised.
Mrs Jones said this was now the time for the teenagers to turn their lives around.
"We've all got or had children of your age," she said.
Councillor Alban Rees added that the council was "very supportive" to help members of the community of all ages, and would support the youngsters if they decided to get involved in future community clean-ups.
Keith Towler, Children's Commissioner for Wales, welcomed what had happened in Pontyberem.
"I think very often, we talk about young people taking responsibility for their actions, and sometimes one of the hardest things to do is to apologise.
"But with the support of the police to make an apology to the community council, I think is really important.
"It helps young people to understand the issues in relation to action and consequences, and taking full responsibility.
"It also builds respect between young people and older people.
Comments
by maxmin
Tuesday, October 16 2012, 12:45PM
“Hacker Jack
My age has nothing to do with it, it was the situation that a lot of people found themselves in after the war, when not everyone had easy access to transport. I was brought up in the country, it was a five mile walk to the nearest bus stop and the nearest town was 8 miles away. That was where the libraries were and we simply couldn't afford the bus fare, but then nor could most people. But I certainly didn't consider myself to have a deprived childhood.
Respect is earned not given. Adults having lived through childhood, experienced all the problems teenagers have, then entering the great rat race, working all the hours god sends just to put a roof over their families heads and food on the table, I believe have a right to consider themselves worthy of respect. I appreciate not every adult is like that but the majority are. Adults live in a world where a person's actions have consequences, if I commit a crime I will be punished for it.
Children do not inhabit the same world. They are not expected to contribute to society by earning money and providing for their families, if they commit a crime they get patted on their heads and told not to be so naughty. They do not accept that their actions have consequences for the rest of society. They do not accept that what to them is a bit of fun is terrifying to some old person living alone.
Obviously not all children are like that, but enough are to treat the majority as an annoyance, it is up to the youth to earn our respect, and I've highlighted ways they can do that.
I'm sorry you had such a negative childhood, the people you came across seem to be just plain rude.”
by Neathboy234
Tuesday, October 16 2012, 12:09PM
“hacker_jack well said. I don't understand about this libraries thing. Was maxmin perhaps banned from all the libraries, perhaps he can explain further.
BTW what's CLM that he is now calling me, a term of endearment perhaps!”
by hacker_jack
Tuesday, October 16 2012, 11:31AM
“I didn't have any entertainment apart from one trip to the cinema once a week. I didn't have access to libraries, or youth clubs or anything of that nature.
----------------
Maxmin, how old are you then? Because in Wales we have had free libraries for 50 years at least (in fact there are a lot less of those now than 20 years ago) and plenty of youth clubs in the last 30.
As for talk of respect, chiding the youths with an attitude shown by "Do you like making your mam and dad unhappy?", shows exactly what is wrong with the system at present. Adults demand respect from youths without showing any in return. As a teenager I was forever being told to respect elders yet was constantly being told to shut up and my thoughts didn't matter by the generation I was meant to be respecting. I once held a door open for an old lady and she looked at me like I had demanded her purse.
That was 15 years ago and if anything things have gotten worse since then. Society does not value young people, it never has done really and seems to think that stuffing them into clubs is the only thing to do with them. It's a strategy that has been proven over decades not to work yet people persist in the same attitude.
Perhaps when adults stop treating all youths like an annoyance or a threat then the young will begin to feel part of the community.”
by maxmin
Tuesday, October 16 2012, 7:53AM
“Yes Neathboy CLM your total ignorance of how things work shines through clear and strong.
Philo. Never a truer word spoken!”
by Neathboy234
Monday, October 15 2012, 3:26PM
“maxmin I'll try and educate u a bit about how times have changed. Just imagine a Sargent Major telling a big black yardie gang member what a horrible little man he is. The reply from the black man would probably be "U ever speak to me like that again and i will get the brothers to pay a little visit to your wife/mother/daughter". Believe U me S M would soon be calling the black guy Sir.
That's the way things are now, everyone has got a weakness somewhere, and the tough will just exploit it. There are people out there who would stab U in the back, shoot U as good as look at U. It takes a brave man to have a go at someone these-days.”
by Neathboy234
Monday, October 15 2012, 3:15PM
“maxmin U horrible little man lol”
by Philosoraptor
Monday, October 15 2012, 3:06PM
“Chairwoman Dorothy Jones said: "Do you like making your mam and dad unhappy?"
That is not the attitude to take, Dorothy. What you should have said is this:
"This is your final warning gentlemen, step out of line once more and both the council and the law will be forced to resort to stronger measures. Your parents are still responsible for your actions, and they will be duly punished in the form of a fine equalling no less than £1000 per incident. If three incidents occur to any single one of you then you shall be removed from your home and family for 24 months in a young offenders institute with no possibility of early release and no visitor rights."
Today's problem is Neathboy's liberal view on the world. Going nice on these people has never worked, and never will. The ultimate irony of their ways is that while the claim their nicey nicey approach is the proper approach, they complain to high heaven that our prisons have never been so full... but the reality of the situation is that the prisons have never been so full since the liberals started using their nicey nicey way with criminals. The reason our prisons are so full is because criminals have no reason to not commit a crime after release, it is the liberals who them a good standard of living behind bars.
Behind bars? Sorry, I meant bars that are only shut while they sleep at night. The rest of the time they are free to walk anywhere in the prison, free to play on the Playstation 3 or shoot some pool, or watch Sky Sports. These are things they do not have ready access to in the outside world, so when they are let out of jail way too early they offend again to go back in. Meanwhile the liberals like Neathboy say that people like me are the problem. Irony. Don't you love it?”
by maxmin
Monday, October 15 2012, 2:18PM
“Neatboy CLM you are off on one of your fantasies again. I doubt very much whether you would have given any RSM a moments trouble. You would have been wetting your pants in the first ten minutes!”
by Neathboy234
Monday, October 15 2012, 9:14AM
“weslangdon i couldn't agree more. Mind U personally I would have loved to have done national service, Within the first day i would have had the Sargent major quivering like a jelly fish, and just imagine what it would be like today. Besides it would be against someones HR to be called a horrible little man.”
by weslangdon
Monday, October 15 2012, 8:22AM
“UK Governments will never re-introduce conscription as the last thing they want is disaffected fit young men and women with weapons training. They are more than happy with things as they are where the public schools have officer training cadets and desperate unemployed working class kids join up "freely." Tens of thousands of unwilling recruits learning how to use guns and explosives would give the ruling class nightmares. Maxmin too by the sound of things”