NATCHEZ &045; When Sheryl Cayou walked into the Boys & Girls Club Monday morning, she found the place covered in white. Even though it looked like it, it was not snow in July.

&uot;It was a mess,&uot; Cayou said of the vandalized building. &uot;I can’t believe this. It made me want to cry.&uot;

Sometime between Saturday night and Monday morning, vandals broke into the building on North Union Street, through what an anonymous source told Executive Director Faye Minor was an unlocked door in a construction area of the building.

At least three fire extinguishers were emptied throughout the building, leaving the chemical ammonia phosphate covering the building from the office to the cafeteria to the gym.

In the process, three doors were kicked in.

Throughout the building lay the residue &045; on floors, chairs and equipment &045; making it look more like a sandlot than a learning environment.

Minor called the Natchez Police Department, who came and took fingerprints and the footprints left behind. Also, she said there were tracks that looked like tire tracks in the building.

And Minor said she does plan to press charges.

The center already was closed Monday for plumbing work, which made it a better time for the center to be closed for this clean up, but Minor said it will be a couple of days before they can continue operations.

Minor said she thinks a child or children who have at least attended the club at some point broke into the club, and she also said she expects children in the community will tell her they saw someone around the club this weekend.

&uot;We know somebody saw. We know somebody knows,&uot; Minor said.

The children at the club are a main concern.

Matilda Stephens, director of development, said she would hate for any of the children to see the club like this because it would really affect them. She had to turn someone away Monday morning because of the closure and because some wanted to help.

&uot;Kids called to ask us if they could help clean up,&uot; Stephens said.

If the vandals were children from the club, Minor said it is frustrating for a couple out of 300 children enrolled to mess something up for everyone.

The main reason Minor suspects children is the only things taken from the club were snacks left in a filing cabinet in the cafeteria.

There were valuable items in the club, such as computers and other equipment, that were not taken, just damaged.

The closure has not only affected the children in the club but many throughout the community.

Because of the mess, the cafeteria could not operate their free lunch program for area children Monday, nor will they be able to today.

Now the kitchen will have to be sterilized so lunch can be served again this week.

But the effects could be more long-term. All of the equipment in the office was covered with the chemical. Minor called someone to find out how to clean the equipment and was told the computers may boot up but may never work again.

Not only were the computers covered from the fire extinguishers, but someone sprayed roach spray on them as well.

Natchez fireman Rusty Anders, lieutenant with the department, said the chemical emitted from the extinguishers is not a health risk but can be corrosive to any time of metal if left on it for a long time.

With brushes and rags in hand, the workers at the club were hard at work trying to salvage their office equipment from the sand-like substance.

Luckily, the computer with the database of children stored in it, with no back-up disk, did work.

Another sacred area saved was the existing computer lab where computers were stored behind a heavy, locked door, which was not vandalized.

Minor, Stephens and Cayou were moving the office into that area for the time being.

It could be a number of days before the club can reopen for children.