Families, individuals and organizations have toiled for 10 years to transform a neglected, weed-filled cemetery in Waialua into the peaceful resting place it was meant to be. But they say vandals are destroying the good work while racing through the graveyard with vehicles, crushing graves and destroying markers.

Several individuals and organizations have joined forces recently and are working to end the problem by bringing awareness of the situation and possibly building a fence.

The desecration has stunned residents, who have seen vandalism at Pu'uiki Cemetery before but say the destruction of crosses, markers and headstones is at its worst since the community rallied a decade ago to fix up the place.

"It's horrible," said Kathleen Pahinui, president of the Friends of Waialua Town. "How would you like somebody riding over your grandfather's grave? It's like, 'What planet are you from?' "

The problems are not limited to irresponsible drivers. Pahinui said people have witnessed illegal activities and a big homeless community living there, but the worst are the motorcyclists and truck drivers who use the place like an off-road track.

Pu'uiki Cemetery, created in the late 1800s for Waialua Sugar Co. workers and community members, is on about five acres and has more than 714 grave sites. Dole Food Co. Hawaii owns the property.

The evidence is clear, said Mike Miura, who has worked to restore the site for 10 years. He produced photographs of tracks abutting a dislodged headstone, fallen concrete crosses, tire marks over a grave and black residue on grave markers. Miura said that they know some of the people responsible but confronting them is out of the question.

"Before, you could talk to some of the older people in the community and they could control that, but it's a different era," he said. "(Today) you got a lot of people who have no allegiance or they just don't have any feeling or reverence for this situation."

Police were notified and officers talked to some of the offenders and that helped — but only for a while, Miura said.

Other people walk their dogs through the area and allow them to defecate or urinate on grave sites, he said.

TYPES OF PENALTIES

Conviction of desecration of a gravesite carries penalties of up to a year in prison and up to $10,000 fine, or both, said Thomas Shirai Jr., who has family members at Pu'uiki and is a local historian.

Shirai said the problem is at its worst since he first raised awareness about the deteriorating condition of the cemetery in 1998. Back then, the community rallied to improve its condition. The Army came out to help clear the scrub land bordering Kaiaka Bay, and in later years Waialua students pitched in, he said.

Regular volunteers used their own money to purchase weed killer and improve the watering system, but then gambling interests came in and stole water for chicken fights, Shirai said. Efforts to protect the area, like blocking access with a sand dune, have only resulted in new heights of desecration, he said.

"They have the audacity to try to make their own trail going through the cemetery just to get down to the beach," Shirai said. "That sparked a lot of concern in the community this year."

Shirai said he would like the property listed in the Hawai'i Register of Historic Places. That, combined with legislation being considered this session to give added protection to such land, would help the cemetery, he said. He also would like a fence built around the cemetery, and said Dole is receptive to the idea.

CONSIDERING SOLUTIONS

Dwight Ishiguro, 59, who recently joined in the cleanups at Pu'uiki, said the cemetery is filled with history and deserves preservation.

Ishiguro, who has been caring for other North Shore cemeteries, said he would like to see boulders brought in to surround the area.

Improving the site more will bring more people to visit, he said.

"With enough people coming by every day, we might be able to cut down on this illegal trespassing and desecration," Ishiguro said. Then the caretakers can begin rebuilding the crosses and headstones, he added.

Dan Nellis, Dole Foods operations director, said a fence is one idea the community is discussing but bringing awareness was their first step in protecting the historical site.

"If there's not a lot of awareness of the problem, then the people who are causing the trouble are free to continue to cause the trouble," Nellis said.

Dole is unable to commit money toward any project but Nellis said it "will support them in whatever way we can and whatever seems the most efficient use of resources."