By Keith Lacey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter/Penticton Herald
A Penticton senior, recognized and appreciated for his long-standing efforts to pick up trash and remove invasive weeds along the Penticton Channel Parkway, was verbally attacked Wednesday by three homeless individuals from a controversial encampment. This incident occurred just two weeks after he was physically assaulted by another person from the same site.
Allan Garland, 82, is a familiar figure to many local motorists as the tall, older gentleman who has been collecting trash between Warren and Fairview Avenues for the past decade.
As he has done regularly for years, Garland was weeding along the channel parkway Wednesday morning when he was confronted by two young men乌鸦传媒攚hom he had never seen before乌鸦传媒攁nd a young woman he had previously encountered. She had earlier threatened to sic her pit bull on him.
乌鸦传媒淚 was near a campsite乌鸦传媒攎ore like a storage area乌鸦传媒攐n the east side of Ellis Creek in a willow patch that we乌鸦传媒檙e trying to restore,乌鸦传媒� said Garland. 乌鸦传媒淭hese campers have destroyed a lot of the willows, but they乌鸦传媒檙e regenerating. There are willows and roses in there, and the beavers are active.
乌鸦传媒淚 had already removed the campers乌鸦传媒� belongings. I didn乌鸦传媒檛 know who they belonged to乌鸦传媒攋ust some clothing, a few bags, a wheeled suitcase, and other items. I had taken this material out of the willow patch on the side of the creek, which is government land.乌鸦传媒�
He had placed the items into a shopping cart.
Garland was joined by a fellow volunteer乌鸦传媒攕omeone he doesn乌鸦传媒檛 know personally乌鸦传媒攚ho drives around Penticton collecting abandoned shopping carts left by homeless individuals.
乌鸦传媒淭his fellow dropped in to see if there were any carts to pick up, but there weren乌鸦传媒檛,乌鸦传媒� said Garland. 乌鸦传媒淭he two of us were on the east side of the creek near the willow patch when the young woman and two young men from the west side of the creek crossed over and began making a big fuss about me handling the campers乌鸦传媒� goods.乌鸦传媒�
While he was not physically harmed, all three individuals were verbally aggressive, said Garland.
乌鸦传媒淭hey started attacking both of us verbally,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淭hey were swarming us and using a lot of foul language.乌鸦传媒�
Garland clarified that online rumors claiming he was physically assaulted during this encounter are inaccurate.
乌鸦传媒淚 wasn乌鸦传媒檛 pushed or touched,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淭he younger man who collects carts told the RCMP officer that he had been pushed, but I didn乌鸦传媒檛 see it. I told the officer that if it was an assault, it was a minor one.乌鸦传媒�
Even though he wasn乌鸦传媒檛 physically harmed, Garland emphasized that being verbally harassed by strangers while trying to clean a public space was still disturbing.
He also raised concerns about the fire risk posed by the growing encampment, particularly with the onset of warmer weather.
The woman who yelled profanities appeared to be in her mid-20s, and the two men seemed a bit younger, he noted.
乌鸦传媒淚t lasted maybe two or three minutes,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚 wasn乌鸦传媒檛 afraid. The woman didn乌鸦传媒檛 have her dog this time. She owns a pit bull. We crossed paths a couple of weeks ago, and I dared her to set the dog on me乌鸦传媒攂ut she turned and walked away.乌鸦传媒�
Two weeks ago, Garland was out on another patrol, enjoying a coffee south of Ellis Creek near the Warren Avenue oxbow, when he was physically attacked by a young man camping alone.
乌鸦传媒淗e was upset that I had moved some abandoned items several days earlier on the east side of the creek,乌鸦传媒� Garland recalled. 乌鸦传媒淗e climbed up the embankment and hit me. That incident was captured on dashcam. The people in the car gave the footage to the police.乌鸦传媒�
The attacker was wearing mittens reinforced with metal plates, said Garland.
乌鸦传媒淎s far as I know, police went down and evicted him later that day. His campsite was removed,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚 chose not to file a report myself, as I wasn乌鸦传媒檛 seriously hurt, though I still have a scar on my knee and one finger from hitting the pavement. He split my lip, which is almost healed. He definitely deserved to be spoken to by police.乌鸦传媒�
Garland estimates that 40 to 50 homeless people are now sheltering along the channelway.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 getting a little rough out there,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淢any are not courteous乌鸦传媒攖hough some are very nice. One fellow always asks me how he can help.乌鸦传媒�
As a longtime B.C. Parks volunteer, Garland admits he has told some campers they should leave.
乌鸦传媒淚f I submit a formal notice, it goes through head office in Victoria and then back to the local director in Penticton,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淟ately, with the encampment growing, I haven乌鸦传媒檛 seen the director take any action.乌鸦传媒�
Garland said he乌鸦传媒檚 likely to avoid working near the encampment for now.
乌鸦传媒淚 think a few of these people are becoming more bold or empowered,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淪ome are getting aggressive.乌鸦传媒�
Despite the negative encounters, Garland said most of the people he meets at the encampment are friendly and cooperative, though a few seem to be looking for trouble.
乌鸦传媒淭here are quite a few who have been there a long time and try to be respectful and keep the area clean,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淏ut there are a few who just aren乌鸦传媒檛 very nice.乌鸦传媒�
Garland plans to attend a site cleanup of the encampment area today (May 31) from 1乌鸦传媒�3 p.m., organized by 100 More Homes Penticton in partnership with the City of Penticton, Penticton Indian Band, and the provincial government.
乌鸦传媒淩esidents of the encampment have been asking for an opportunity to dispose of items, and we are thankful to the province for providing this resource, which was advocated for by our 乌鸦传媒楲ived/Living Experience Table,乌鸦传媒澪谘淮綑 said 100 More Homes in a Thursday news release.
A major part of Garland乌鸦传媒檚 volunteer work involves removing invasive species such as knapweed and Russian thistle, which can cause ecological damage if left unchecked.
乌鸦传媒淚 do it every other day or so,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚 like to get the knapweed when it乌鸦传媒檚 young. My career background helps. These weeds blow along the highway and spread easily. They have to be removed.乌鸦传媒�
Garland spent much of his youth in Penticton after his parents moved from Winnipeg in the 1970s.
乌鸦传媒淚 came here for about a year and a half to help them settle in and ended up working in orchards, which led to my job with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency,乌鸦传媒� he said.
In his view, it乌鸦传媒檚 time to take action before the encampment becomes even more of a hazard.
乌鸦传媒淚 think people in authority need to act,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淭he government has resource officers, but when I submit a note, it has to go through Victoria.
乌鸦传媒淧eople are allowed to camp on government land for two weeks乌鸦传媒攂ut after that, they乌鸦传媒檙e no longer legally allowed to be there.乌鸦传媒�
After retiring to Penticton in 2007 following a long career with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Garland joined the South Okanagan Naturalists乌鸦传媒� Club and became actively involved in their work.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 a proud B.C. Parks volunteer乌鸦传媒攑robably the only one you乌鸦传媒檒l meet in Penticton,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e been doing this for the past 10 years. Last summer, the Conservation Officer Service even gave me an award for my volunteer work.乌鸦传媒�
Knapweed, he noted, is a particularly problematic weed that continues to grow through the winter and produces thousands of seeds. It displaces native vegetation and contributes to erosion and runoff.
With the Ministry of Environment乌鸦传媒檚 approval, Garland began removing weeds along the highway between Warren and Fairview. He has pulled tall mustard, prickly Russian thistle, and countless knapweed plants.
乌鸦传媒淚 also noticed a lot of human trash乌鸦传媒攕o I started picking that up too,乌鸦传媒� he said.
