By Mark Waite
About 20 squatters living in the desert east of Highway 160 face an Oct. 1 deadline to move.
The publicity about the installation of port-a-potties for the homeless living in the desert got back to the property owners, according to the Rev. Richard Fenton, from Helping Hands 4 Jesus.
“There’s about four different landowners that have contacted me. They have all wanted the people moved because of the liability and they’ve been out there just too long,” said Fenton, who ministers to the homeless.
The eviction was postponed temporarily after Fenton suggested a desert cleanup in that area, conducted by volunteers from church and youth groups earlier this month.
In early July, Nye County Commissioners voted 3-2 against renting three port-a-potties for $210 per month to serve the growing homeless population. It was touted as a way to clean up the area, but other commissioners had concerns over private property rights or the role of government in providing the amenities.
Fenton said a woman in town who wished to remain anonymous raised the money to buy three port-a-potties and put them out there.
“So we put them back out and all the hubbub about it, I guess, attracted attention by the landowners that the homeless were out there,” Fenton said. “Some of them didn’t know and were ignoring it and some of them found out.”
Records on file with the assessor’s office show Basin Panorama Investors, in Las Vegas, owns a 160-acre tract in the disputed area between Basin Avenue on the south, Wilson Road on the north, Powerline Road on the east and Oyster Street on the west. The Madsen Family Ltd. of Las Vegas owns a 40-acre parcel in the area, while three smaller tracts are owned by Kinman Poon and M and R Shevach, of Las Vegas.
The property owners banded together and notified Fenton; the cleanup was suggested first.
“If they were to leave immediately they wouldn’t be able to take their housing with them because there’s travel trailers out there and motor homes and campers. They don’t have vehicles so they have been put out for them to live in. If they were to leave, it would be up to the property owners to bear the expense of cleaning out the property themselves,” Fenton said.
Some of the campers were arranged through his mission.
“The intent was to help a homeless person sleeping in the desert and under a tree,” Fenton said. “Now the owners of the land are saying we don’t want you out there. Now we’re looking for another spot.”
As to where they will go, Fenton at this time doesn’t have a clue. Pahrump doesn’t have a homeless shelter. Fenton said he can’t tell people where to camp, because they might be on someone’s property, only where they can’t camp. He’s been handing out maps showing the forbidden area.
Fenton said property owners were told the roads out in the desert weren’t legally accepted by the county and could be blocked off with no trespassing signs.
Nye County Sheriff Tony DeMeo said the squatters have been a blight on the property. The sheriff’s department could evict them any time the property owners desire, he said.
“We haven’t been contacted, but I know the property owners have expressed sincere displeasure over the conduct of the people in those encampments. Actually BLM contacted me over a year ago. They are going to be in the process of evicting people off BLM property,” DeMeo said.
Fenton sits on the Community Crisis Intervention Committee, which is working on trying to address the homeless problem. The committee works with the homeless and people who are one step away, that are unable to pay the power bill or have fallen through the cracks, he said.
DeMeo said some of the homeless are under psychiatric care, abusing drugs or alcohol. The homeless often panhandle for money. There’s been a few crimes committed in the homeless camps, the squatters have also committed crimes in town, he said.
But the sheriff said Nye County doesn’t have the services for a homeless shelter.
Property owners in that area have made sheriff’s deputies authorized agents to enforce their will, DeMeo said.
“They asked advisement on that. We told them if you want people off the property we’ll respond there with deputies,” DeMeo said. “If the people don’t get off the property, Oct. 2nd I can guarantee you the Nye County Sheriff’s Office will be there.”
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- Mark Waite / Pahrump Valley Times – A port-a-potty serves residents in trailers that litter the desert east of the casinos along Highway 160, where some squatters will soon have to move.
Why would the ‘desert cleanup’ be conducted by volunteers and church groups? I guess the homeless people just don’t have the time to clean up after themselves.
Get those people to move quickly I feel sorry for them but get them into a shelter somewhere
“……but get them into a shelter somewhere.”
Well, see, THAT’S the problem. There are no shelters here. Since it is against the law to live in a tent (or even an RV) on public OR PRIVATE property over extended periods (our esteemed leaders made it illegal to “camp out” on private property – even if the property is yours), they’re stuck between a rock and a hot hard place. Due to our “complaint driven” society, any grouchy old geezer or biddy can call in a complaint to the gendarmes to have the Sheriff, Animal Control, Health Dept., Building & Safety, or Fire Dept. respond at the sight of some unfamiliar pitched tent or parked & packed vehicle. A large percentage of our homeless have mental problems and another large segment choose to live in this environment. Only 63 percent of the civilian population participate in our labor force. That’s the lowest level of labor force participation in 31 years. Only 16-people are working now to support one person on disability. It used to be 60-to-1 when I was a teen. Our community’s leaders and residents choose not to deal with this problem that continues to only get worse.
Property owners CAN live in an RV on their land under selected conditions. Snow Birds do it all the time. The must be in RE-1 land or greater and cannot do so for more than 6 months. We have a number of snow birds that come to Pahrump and stay on their property for the winter. They usually have a garage or pump house, well and septic with a power stand to connect their RV.
Other situations include medical hardship, watchman’s quarters or when a new home is being built. Again, these are usually approved for 6 month periods and can be renewed with no limit on renewals.
Also, Nye County does not have a health department. As for your statement that “only 63% of the citizens participate in the work force, I don’t know if that is true. It could be, they could be like me, someone who worked for 50 years and then retired. That’s me, not working and loving it.
The latest numbers I saw a few days ago were 58% of the population is participating in the work force.
“As the system collapses the taxes will be raised higher and higher.”
I am aware of the “snowbirds”, etc., but try and see what happens when someone pitches a tent on the vacant lot in your neighborhood even though they have water, power, and septic. See how welcomed THEY feel, AND I will repeat, they are not allowed to live there longer than 6-months. Many up on the “fan” have been there much longer than that not to mention the huge number of occupied RVs and tents stacked up on peoples’ properties by supporting family members and friends of the out of work, disabled, and lazy. I’ve taken in a few homeless people myself – it’s what we as humans are supposed to do. As if the economy wasn’t bad enough, the ‘powers to be’ don’t make it any easier.
Yes, get them hidden from public view so the populace won’t see how bad the economy is deteriorating. Is this why the BLM won’t allow the homeless to stay on PUBLIC LAND.
OUR LAND. Not the BLM’s.
We now have tent cities springing up all over the Nation as people are made homeless from job loss, home foreclosures and medical bills. Not a pretty sight for supposedly the richest country in the world.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Homeless+Tent+Cities+In+America&FORM=RESTAB
Surely we have a solution to all this misery without throwing people off public land. Private yes. public. NO!
“What wine goes with unemployment?”
That is interesting that BLM won’t let them on BLM land. Snowbirds park their vehicles on BLM land during the winter all over the Southwest. Has this changed?
The article states “property owners.” The BLM has its own policies about people camping for extended periods on public land.
PVT
“What wine goes with unemployment?” Annie Green Springs or Mad Dog 20/20.
Don’t forget Thunderbird, Ripple, and Boone’s Farm.
The town and county waste $thousands suing each other, hundreds of thousands more in Harley World, more on soccer fields, yet not a dime can be budgeted toward the homeless neighbors out there. I suggest the squatters be moved to the property that the new well is being drilled on for the soccer fields. Once water is flowing, a shower and other basic amenities funded by local charities. We can’t just toss these people onto Hwy 160.
I don’t normally condone tent cities-the person is right many of the homeless suffer from mental issues and the others are victims of circumstance-as christians, americans and decent people we should be appauld that we give monies to overseas charities but want to keep our heads in the sand when there are people here in the US living like this-yes volunteers should be helping them-and if tent cities can be put up in protest at “occupy wall street” and the law protects them -why not a few people off road living w/the snakes and cyotes-we should all be turning these people into productive citizens and stop the vcictim mentality!
They’re squatting on private property and the owners of that property have every right to order that these people be removed. I wouldn’t like it one bit if the government dictated that I had to let them stay on my property. If they’re part of what’s causing the increase in crime in our community like the sheriff says, then they need to go. There are homeless shelters in Las Vegas and Reno and we need to help them get there. Maybe the folks who are generously providing them with campers and portable toilets can use that money to arrange for transportation instead.
If the dear reverend wants to take care of these people then let HIM buy some land and let them settle there (and trash it).
It’s a GOOD thing that Pahrump has no shelter. Build it and they will come, and come, and come. People are like pigeons, they’ll settle where ever there is free food, like city parks.
So much anger. Why?
We are talking about people, those who have found themselves in difficulties, they are in need. Instead of our property tax money going for “studies, surveys & opinions” for spending our money on foolishness such as the Nye County Fair grounds made by some “over paid individuals” hired by our politicians, perhaps we need to have a study done on a solution for this terrible epidemic of the poor & homeless in Nye County. Come on politicians, stop thinking about yourselves & start resolving the poor & homeless issues in Nye County, & I don’t mean by having the Sheriff go in and bulldoze the people into the streets. Think! There is a gentle solution, a kinder way of dealing with the poor & homeless.
Please Help. Homeless people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. I’m not advocating giving them money however you can donate to “Helping Hands for Jesus” and the money will be used to assist in many ways. Very soon it will be cold and the homeless will be trying to stay warm and survive. All of us in Pahrump and especially the religious organizations should be doing more to assist with this problem as it is a concern for all of us. ( and not just around the Holidays). We may not want to build a shelter however we just cannot ignore the problem and make it go away. This is a problem for all of us to deal with as they are people needing help even though some may refuse. By moving them out of this area they will just find another spot to live. Most of us will say not in our backyard and I agree so why can’t the community get together and address this problem. Why can’t the local religious organizations sponsor missions to assist with the homeless right here in Pahrump as well as sending missionaries throughout the world, we need the help our people too, it’s not just the governments job. All of us can help in some small way and it doesn’t have to cost us a dime. Donate blankets, household items and food to “Helping Hands” We cannot afford to ignore this problem. I don’t blame law enforcement for their position they have a job to do. This is a problem for all of US to think about. All of us in Pahrump should help as we cannot afford not to. This is a problem that will not just go away.
“This is a problem that will not just go away.”
Unfortunately, it does:
“Suicide has overtaken car crashes as the biggest cause of death in the US…..suicides are likely a bigger problem then the data lets on.”