In a whispering voice you hear the words, “If you build it, they will come.” That was building a baseball field in the middle of a corn field. But in real life that seems to include homeless encampments.
The Whitman County commissioners are considering a camping ban along the Snake River according to an article posted on the Pullman Radio News Facebook page. The article has drawn nearly 150 comments at the time of my writing.
Along the Snake River, a handful of people have been setting up residence in areas where others go for recreation and camping. Recently, some of the inhabitants have allowed their domicile to become a nuisance.
To combat this, the commissioners are considering removing the option for camping along that whole area outside of the Army Corps of Engineers land and Wawawai County Park. This is an unfortunate side effect of the problem.
Other options would be preferable to the blanket camping shutdown. Unfortunately, the easiest solution many times causes the most pain. A more difficult option would allow a limited amount of time for camping, then a requirement that the camper vacate the area for a certain period of time before returning for more camping.
This is something similar to parking on a city street. After a certain number of days if your car does not move you may receive a parking ticket. However, doing so takes enforcement. That takes one or more employees who will patrol the area and track vehicles.
Maybe the county could issue a camping pass that, when expired, could not be re-issued for a specified period. Many options come with overhead and expenses. The extra expenses are eliminated if the commissioners simply put a stop to camping.
If you build it, they will come. This seems very true in homeless situations. How did a number of homeless people all happen to gather in the same area near the Port of Wilma along the Snake River? Look in Seattle or Portland. There is rarely a single tent or RV. Typically, there are many tents and RVs co-located in a small geographical area. Why?
Is there a homeless Realtor.com-style website? Is there a Facebook group? Is there a homeless Bat Signal? I have no idea, but they find each other and start to congregate. In addition to the problems of garbage and sanitation, these homeless encampments take away public space from others who may want to use it.
As I read through the comments online I noted that people are battling on both sides, which showed it is not a cut-and-dried issue. My initial thought is, by turning a blind eye the area along the river, it will be thoroughly trashed, just like portions of Seattle and Portland because of their permissive attitude.
One person wants to have land purchased so the homeless can camp out. I saw the same thoughts from homeless advocates back in the mid-’90s. They didn’t like the city pushing the homeless out and advocated to provide space for them to stay in tents.
Why are homeless advocates OK with them staying in tents? Wouldn’t they rather get the homeless into a better environment? Nearly 17 years later, advocates still think it’s humane to leave homeless people in tents and cardboard boxes as long as the government doesn’t force them to leave their encampments.
Another person pointed out that Wawawai Road, along the Snake River, is becoming a nasty, garbage-filled area. Further, with all the help wanted throughout the valley, there is no reason for people to choose to live along the Snake River to pretend they have no other options.
As much as I hate to say it, shutting down all camping is probably the best and most economical option to stop turning our beautiful waterway into a nasty unsanitary, garbage-filled trash heap like Seattle has allowed.
Whitman County is still worth fighting for.
Anderson is a computer programmer who enjoys serving the community through various community-oriented service jobs.
