■ The recent brouhaha over boys  on dirt bikes in  Ōpōtiki led Eastern Bay
filmmaker Kim Webby to contemplate community, and how beautiful, yet fragile,
it is.

Credit to the Ōpōtiki police and council who have put a stop to the bad bike behaviour, for now, but not before a member of the public was reportedly injured.

I, too, had a go at three young men on dirt bikes riding on the cycle track near Tirohanga, a place where motorbikes are rightly banned.

But I still remember being a teenager in Ōpōtiki, slightly wild, naively idealistic, and often bored.  

Teenagers and young adults crave excitement and sometimes danger.

Imagine if there was a safe place away from the public where the dirt bike brigade could hoon to their hearts content.

TECT Park, between Rotorua and Tauranga, is an incredible outdoor facility that includes public, family oriented motorcycle tracks as well as a motocross track for motocross club members.  

Imagine if these boys got to test their skills on a purpose-built track where the public were out of harm’s way.

But we are in a recession, the council’s budget is squeezed, and it is also not up to them to cater for every whim that we have.  

But I just wonder whether there is any idle land, close to town, unsuitable for farming or cropping, that could maybe be made available for such a facility, even a temporary one because these fads come and go.

I fear the alternative is a return to boys, bikes and bravado in the main street before too long.

While the boys ruled the roads, it deeply unsettled many residents.  

It cast a pall over the community, because strong community is based on most of the people doing the right thing, most of the time.  

By the way, the boys on dirt bikes phenomena is not unique to Ōpōtiki.  

There are similar reports from towns around the motu.

I believe community is something to cherish, especially when it creates a feeling of belonging and a sense of responsibility to do good for the other members of the community.

We celebrate community when we come together with a common purpose and sometimes that purpose is just to have fun.  

A recent visit by two Gisborne bands, who played at the Senior Citizens Hall, was fun.

We were community members on our feet dancing together.

I took great delight in seeing school teachers, health professionals and other members of our community sharing a good time during tough times.

When I moved back to Ōpōtiki from Auckland 12 years ago, I was struck by the community feeling after the anonymous isolation of a big city.  

I enjoyed reconnecting with old school teachers in the main street and with other people who knew me way back when I was that wild but well-intentioned teenager.    

Community is a gift and one worth putting effort into.