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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Growing pains prompt neighborhood patrols

Thefts from Arnada Community Garden subside after volunteers start keeping watch

By , Columbian Local News Editor
Published:
2 Photos
Neighbors On Watch volunteers Andy Chumbley and Ann Glidewell were among the volunteers who have stepped up patrols around the Arnada Community Garden in Vancouver to help deter criminal activity.
Neighbors On Watch volunteers Andy Chumbley and Ann Glidewell were among the volunteers who have stepped up patrols around the Arnada Community Garden in Vancouver to help deter criminal activity. (Photos by Amanda Cowan/The Columbian) Photo Gallery

Recent thefts of vegetables from the Arnada Community Garden prompted neighborhood officials to do something about the problem. Now, a couple of months later, the results seem to be paying off.

The neighborhood association’s interim chair, Jim Girard, said residents noticed some produce missing earlier this summer. In some cases, he said people were run off from the garden for trying to glean ripe vegetables.

Arnada’s neighborhood police officer, Tyler Chavers, said residents also had reported people trespassing in the garden, camping, drinking and uprooting plants.

Between 15 to 20 Arnada residents use the garden located on East 16th Street between D and E streets. The garden has 10 raised bed boxes with additional surrounding spaces, Girard said.

The Vancouver Housing Authority provides the site.

“These (residents) have worked their rear-ends off to get this stuff here,” he said.

Girard characterized the thefts and other abuse as the worst in the garden’s four years but said in the past it has typically been slight.

“It hasn’t been a huge problem, but we wanted to get it addressed,” he said.

In doing so, Girard spoke with Chavers about whether some officers would be able to make extra patrols in the late afternoon. He said Chavers, in turn, approached the Neighbors on Watch group about monitoring the area.

Chavers said a “hot sheet” went out to NOW volunteers, who started making regular patrols in the area. He said he, too, started going by the garden but never saw anything suspicious or criminal.

Both Girard and Chavers agree the extra patrols have made a difference.

“It has pretty much died down. I think it has something to do with more eyes and ears,” Chavers said.

NOW volunteers patrol areas within Vancouver’s city limits that could use a more visible police presence, said Kelly Cheney, the group’s volunteer coordinator. Generally, there are anywhere from two to five patrol teams out in the city on any given day between the hours of 6 a.m. and midnight, she said.

If a volunteer sees criminal activity or anything suspicious, they determine whether to call 911 or log it for a neighborhood police officer to review.

“We are highly visible and non-confrontational. Bad guys are not expecting us to drive around in a blue Toyota pickup or a white Prius. They’re not necessarily looking for us, but we are looking for them. We see a lot and report a lot,” Cheney said.

NOW volunteer Andy Chumbley said he often drives by the garden but hasn’t personally seen anyone there. He said chances are the people causing problems frequent the garden after sundown.

“Groups of people usually take off when they see us coming. We’re a good solution to the problem,” he said.

Girard said the issues could have been caused by an upswing in the transient population. There’s apparently a spot nearby, he said, where many homeless people congregate.

The garden is easily accessible because it doesn’t have a fence surrounding it, and Girard said there are no plans to erect one. In fact, he said the garden’s future is uncertain because of recent development in the neighborhood.

But in the meantime, the patrols will continue until the growing season is over.

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