Yellowknife (July 23/03) - Linda Benedict cringes as she picks up a used tampon in front of the fire exit door of her day care.

Linda Benedict of the Yellowknife Day Care Association picks up a piece of a toy that vandals broke during one of their nightly raids. Below, she grimaces while picking up a used tampon found outside one of the daycare doors.- Cheryl Robinson/NNSL photos

Benedict, the executive director of the Yellowknife Day Care Association, said sex, pot smoking, vandalism and gross garbage constantly plague the daycare, which sits across the alley from the Raven Pub and the Gold Range.

Used condoms and broken glass have been found around the day care playground, where children crawl on their hands and knees. Benedict said she suspects people are hiding in the playground equipment and engaging in sexual acts.

"One of the kids even found a condom one day. It was bright orange. The kid pointed to it and said 'Hey Linda, look,'" she said.

Benedict said she was shocked when the child discovered the condom, and she disposed of it immediately.

"I get here two hours ahead of time in the mornings so that I have time to pick up the garbage and such left over from the night before," she said.

On several occasions pornographic pictures have been attached to the fence and spread across the playground for the children to see.

"And these aren't pictures from a Playboy magazine either, these are pictures from the really gross magazines," she said. "This place is for little kids!"

Benedict said the vandalization has been ongoing for over a month.

The vandals even jumped off a picnic table onto the hood of her car when she left it there overnight, leaving a giant dent in the hood. On a different occasion, they broke into her car and stole money and other items, then later slashed the tires.

What's being done

Benedict said she's notified the police several times, but they wouldn't return her call.

She said it wasn't until last Thursday morning, when Benedict called the police and demanded they come by, that an officer spoke to her and saw the work of the vandals.

Benedict showed the officer a toy box the vandals had broken into and ransacked the night before.

"He basically told me it was a shame, but there wasn't much he could do," she said. "He did say he'd make sure the other shifts knew I wanted them to keep an eye on the place."

Since the officer visited the day care last Thursday, Insp. Paul Richards said the police have arrested a young person on the property for being drunk and in possession of stolen items, which included a debit card and a driver's licence.

Richards said the police have stepped up their patrols in the area, but that keeping vandals away isn't going to be easy because of it's location.

"It's in a high traffic area where we know there is a lot of drug and alcohol abuse," said Richards.

Benedict is also calling on neighbours around the day care to keep watch.

"I've drafted a letter that I'm going to give to the people across the street telling them if they see anything to call the police," she said.

The installation of security cameras has also been mentioned as a possibility.

"I don't know what else I can do," said Benedict.