Carenne buses take a huge hit

Staff made the discovery on Monday morning when they were about to start the school run at 7am.

It was a nightmare weekend for educational institutions, with vandals causing an estimated $200,000 in damage at Kelso Public School, while five chickens were slaughtered in a sickening attack at South Bathurst Public.

At Carenne, the vandals smashed two windows in two buses parked under security lighting on the school grounds. 

The offenders smashed windows to the mini-buses while they were parked and secured in the car park between 5pm Friday and 7am on Monday. 

Carenne principal Neil Moon said the damage to the two mini buses caused significant disruptions to the students’ routines.

“Police arrived on Monday to do the forensic procedures and yesterday the buses were being repaired, which meant we couldn’t use them for both days,” Mr Moon said. “Fortunately we had enough buses here to continue the run, we just had to change things around.

“It was certainly inconvenient – one of the buses which was vandalised holds several wheelchairs at once, whereas the buses we’ve been using over the two days can only transport one wheelchair at a time, so we had to do multiple trips to get all the kids to school.”

Normally the buses are kept in the back playground area which is secure, but because of the wet weather and the grounds being wet the school kept the buses outside under security lighting.

“But, it wasn’t enough to prevent them being damaged. We are now looking at alternative arrangements, to make sure we’re not in this situation again,” he said.

Mr Moon said the culprits were obviously looking for valuables, but absolutely nothing of value is left in any of their buses.

“There is nothing at all to take so they just caused damage,” he said. “Some of the students asked a few questions, it’s just disappointing to think someone can trespass on school grounds and vandalise our property.  

“The whole thing is senseless and its so frustrating because it ends up costing so much money to get it all repaired.”

In another incident, police are investigating a break and enter at the Bathurst Institute of TAFE on Panorama Avenue, where offenders broken into an office and removed the keys to two vehicles. 

One of the vehicles was stolen and later found abandoned in the vicinity of Rivett Place, Kelso. The other vehicle had smashed windows and had been rifled through.

Residents of Kelso had alerted police earlier during the night to a vehicle being driven at high speeds in the area. Police began patrolling and caught sight of the vehicle on Havannah Street. They followed the vehicle, but due to its speed lost  sight of it. Both vehicles ar the property of the Institute of TAFE.

If you have information on either of these incidents contact Bathurst police on 6332 8699 or Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.