Willowglen resident Alfred Lang inspects the site where transients lit a campfire on the east hike and bike trail. Residents are calling for signs to warn people that camping and fires are prohibited along the pathway.
Lyonel Doherty photo
A couple of Willowglen residents are calling for signage to deter tenting and campfires along the east side of the hike and bike trail.
According to Town officials, their wish will be granted soon.
Alfred Lang on Willows Place said he recently observed two tents under a tree metres from the pedestrian bridge near Lions Park. Two fellows had made a campfire just off the trail, so he kindly asked them to put it out. But they said they were cooking food.
Lang then asked a neighbour (Celia Newman) to call the RCMP to deal with the issue. Newman managed to convince police to show their presence and talk to the campers. This helped, but it didn’t solve the problem.
“It’s awful. They (transients) come with their dogs off leash. You talk to them about it and you get the finger,” said Lang.
He noted it’s very frustrating for residents who have to have their dogs licensed and on a leash, but the transients don’t.
Lang said there should be bylaw enforcement in the area during the early morning and late evening hours (when the problems occur). But he noted that one bylaw officer told him they only work from 8 am to 4 pm.
Lang said he complained to the Town, giving the clerk his name, address and telephone number, but that’s as far as it went. “The Town doesn’t seem to care; don’t step on anyone’s toes.”
Lang said what bothers him the most is the filth and dirt the transients leave behind. He stressed that these people are not traditional fruit pickers, just transients.
The resident noted it has reached a point where local families do not inhabit Lions Park in the summer because they feel intimidated.
Newman has taken matters into her own hands by pruning back tree branches in one area where campers have pitched their tents previously hidden from view. She half-joked that campers are free to move closer to the river where poison ivy grows.
Last year Newman cleaned up toilet paper and human feces from one campsite set up in the middle of a trail.
She didn’t want to call the fire department for the recent campfire adjacent to the bike trail, so she called police. The RCMP told her she should be contacting bylaw enforcement . . . “but where are they?” Newman asked.
She went to the Town hall and was handed a copy of Oliver’s burning regulations that basically state all outdoor fires are prohibited unless they are propane barbecues or approved by the fire chief (or contained in an approved pit). Currently, the Kamloops Fire Centre has placed a ban on all open fires, unless they meet certain conditions.
Oliver Deputy Fire Chief Bob Graham said the department responded to a couple of campfires on the river dike this summer.
Newman said the east side bike trail needs at least three “no camping” signs like the west side trail has. But she would also like to see the signs include “no fire” warnings too. She said the signs are needed to give residents ammunition when they have to remind transients of the bylaw. She added that all information given to transients should be bilingual.
“We have a lot to lose (if we don’t make it clear what the rules are).”
But Cathy Cowan, the Town’s corporate officer, said they are requesting permission from the Ministry of Environment to have no camping/no fire signs posted on the east side trail.
“We do patrols along the path and will be asking bylaw to enforce in that area more regularly now.”
Cowan said the Town has heard concerns from a couple of people, however, bylaw officers do not assess fines. “We ask them (the transients) to take down their camp and move out of the area. If need be we do ask for assistance from the RCMP.”
Municipal Manager Tom Szalay said Public Works is aware of the need for the signs and will be working on it.
“Right now, Public Works is really busy with summer maintenance items, vacations and several major capital projects that are all high priority.”
Director of Operations Shawn Goodsell confirmed the signs will be installed starting this week.
Newman noted that a new “no camping, no campfires” sign has been erected on the east side of the river north of vertical drop structure 13, where the Forbes farm has its irrigation water intake structure; a spot that has been used as an illegal camping area.
The Willowglen community continues to be on edge about the transient situation and recent acts of vandalism, Newman said.
She pointed out that it’s not transients who are vandalizing property, but local youth. She said some residents have started building fences to deter the vandals.
“One house has a motion sensor that lights up the whole backyard. If all of the residents put in sensors, it would make a big difference.”
Newman said she would love to have a motion sensor dog bark sound to ward off unwanted visitors and would-be troublemakers.
Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle
