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 menâwhom he had never seen beforeâand a young woman he had previously encountered. She had earlier threatened to sic her pit bull on him.
âI was near a campsiteâmore like a storage areaâon the east side of Ellis Creek in a willow patch that weâre trying to restore,â said Garland. âThese campers have destroyed a lot of the willows, but theyâre regenerating. There are willows and roses in there, and the beavers are active.
âI had already removed the campersâ belongings. I didnât know who they belonged toâjust 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.â
He had placed the items into a shopping cart.
Garland was joined by a fellow volunteerâsomeone he doesnât know personallyâwho drives around Penticton collecting abandoned shopping carts left by homeless individuals.
âThis fellow dropped in to see if there were any carts to pick up, but there werenât,â said Garland. âThe 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 campersâ goods.â
While he was not physically harmed, all three individuals were verbally aggressive, said Garland.
âThey started attacking both of us verbally,â he said. âThey were swarming us and using a lot of foul language.â
Garland clarified that online rumors claiming he was physically assaulted during this encounter are inaccurate.
âI wasnât pushed or touched,â he said. âThe younger man who collects carts told the RCMP officer that he had been pushed, but I didnât see it. I told the officer that if it was an assault, it was a minor one.â
Even though he wasnât 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.
âIt lasted maybe two or three minutes,â he said. âI wasnât afraid. The woman didnât 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 meâbut she turned and walked away.â
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.
âHe was upset that I had moved some abandoned items several days earlier on the east side of the creek,â Garland recalled. âHe climbed up the embankment and hit me. That incident was captured on dashcam. The people in the car gave the footage to the police.â
The attacker was wearing mittens reinforced with metal plates, said Garland.
âAs far as I know, police went down and evicted him later that day. His campsite was removed,â he said. âI chose not to file a report myself, as I wasnât 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.â
Garland estimates that 40 to 50 homeless people are now sheltering along the channelway.
âItâs getting a little rough out there,â he said. âMany are not courteousâthough some are very nice. One fellow always asks me how he can help.â
As a longtime B.C. Parks volunteer, Garland admits he has told some campers they should leave.
âIf I submit a formal notice, it goes through head office in Victoria and then back to the local director in Penticton,â he said. âLately, with the encampment growing, I havenât seen the director take any action.â
Garland said heâs likely to avoid working near the encampment for now.
âI think a few of these people are becoming more bold or empowered,â he said. âSome are getting aggressive.â
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.
âThere are quite a few who have been there a long time and try to be respectful and keep the area clean,â he said. âBut there are a few who just arenât very nice.â
Garland plans to attend a site cleanup of the encampment area today (May 31) from 1â3 p.m., organized by 100 More Homes Penticton in partnership with the City of Penticton, Penticton Indian Band, and the provincial government.
âResidents 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 âLived/Living Experience Table,ââ said 100 More Homes in a Thursday news release.
A major part of Garlandâs volunteer work involves removing invasive species such as knapweed and Russian thistle, which can cause ecological damage if left unchecked.
âI do it every other day or so,â he said. âI like to get the knapweed when itâs young. My career background helps. These weeds blow along the highway and spread easily. They have to be removed.â
Garland spent much of his youth in Penticton after his parents moved from Winnipeg in the 1970s.
âI 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,â he said.
In his view, itâs time to take action before the encampment becomes even more of a hazard.
âI think people in authority need to act,â he said. âThe government has resource officers, but when I submit a note, it has to go through Victoria.
âPeople are allowed to camp on government land for two weeksâbut after that, theyâre no longer legally allowed to be there.â
After retiring to Penticton in 2007 following a long career with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Garland joined the South Okanagan Naturalistsâ Club and became actively involved in their work.
âIâm a proud B.C. Parks volunteerâprobably the only one youâll meet in Penticton,â he said. âIâve been doing this for the past 10 years. Last summer, the Conservation Officer Service even gave me an award for my volunteer work.â
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 Environmentâs approval, Garland began removing weeds along the highway between Warren and Fairview. He has pulled tall mustard, prickly Russian thistle, and countless knapweed plants.
âI also noticed a lot of human trashâso I started picking that up too,â he said.
