Residents of the Eugene homeless camp referred to as Whoville have mixed feelings about a new chain link fence. The Eugene Police Department set up the barrier Friday and left two openings for people to pass through. Some, like Whoville resident Marty, say they feel safer with the fence up.
Marty: "Cause we govern ourselves. And with somebody there now we always got one of our people here watching who's coming in and out. And I mean, you know, we sleep. And I mean, 3 o'clock in the morning there's a lot of people that wander in and out. We've all had stuff stolen from us. You know, people pillage from us. We've had college kids throw eggs at us. We've had a pretty rough lick."
Others feel it is the next step to being evicted from the city owned-plot of land on the corner of Hilyard and Broadway. E-P-D posted "No Trespassing" signs early last week. Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy announced late Friday she will not use her emergency powers to legalize the Whoville site. In a statement, Piercy said Monday the City Council will consider extending the Pilot Rest Stop Program to open a second site for the homeless to camp.
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