SILER CITY — Some business owners in downtown Siler City have expressed concerns for their safety — and sanitation — because of the actions of a homeless man and a local woman.
On June 29, a yet-to-be-identified man relieved himself on a welcome mat of Rufus L. Johnson Land Surveyors on S. Chatham Avenue. The human waste, which the owner suspects was left by an apparent homeless man he had seen recently in the area, was eventually cleaned up by town of Siler City Public Utilities staff.
According to Siler City Police Chief Mike Wagner, the police were unable to determine who had done the deed since the man was no longer in the vicinity when they arrived.
Chris McCorquodale, Siler City’s Public Works director, noted that such incidents are rare for his department. He did note that last year, a person or persons unknown had been vomiting in various areas downtown on occasion, but this was the first such incident for his department this year.
Then on July 1, Jackie Adams, owner of Oasis Fresh Market and Deli — located on S. Chatham Avenue across the street from Johnson’s business — saw a woman on her security camera with a shopping cart the Open Air Market adjacent to the deli. At first she “thought nothing of it,” she said, but later in the evening, the woman had once again come and gone, this time leaving trash and her shopping cart. Adams called the police and they were able to locate and charge Frances Dowd Payne with second degree trespass and resisting a public officer. Payne is known to have a home locally, according to police, but is often seen around town with a shopping cart.
The very next day, Adams found a man at the Open Air Market with a guitar, what she described as “big stick” and a hammer. Adams, who said she likes to allow families and kids to have access to the space downtown, found the man’s presence was making children uncomfortable. She asked him to leave, at which point he picked up his hammer and began shouting, cursing at her.
She again called the police. When they arrived, Adams told them the man left as they arrived, heading up Raleigh Street. The police were able to locate the man, William Kenneth Freshwater, who is apparently homeless, and informed him that he was “trespassed” from the property and would be charged if he returned.
Wagner said that the town just five or so permanent homeless or occasionally homeless residents his department has identified. This includes a couple that was trespassed from the “tent city” that was created behind the Siler City Walmart recently. The department has been called on numerous occasions by business owners in Siler City for other transgressions by those some describe as “vagrants.”
At one point, for example, his officers found a man digging through and eating discarded food from a Dollar General dumpster at Chatham Square. He believes the man does not mean any “ill will” to anyone, but “when he gets out of balance,” issues arise.
“Most of these people have recurring disorders,” Wagner said. “When they can’t get their meds, their problems are compounded.”
Wagner said law enforcement is the first group that people think of to call in these circumstances because “people want resolution quickly,” but at the “end of the day, us arresting them” is just a temporary fix.
“The region has no resources for homeless people,” Wagner said. “There’s not an agency that is helping them long-term. They have very limited financial resources and depend about 95% of the time on citizens donating to them.”
The incidents were frustrating to both Johnson and Adams. Johnson wondered if the town could create some sort of ordinance regarding vagrancy, but even so he was understanding of the current limitations.
“You can pick them up, but what do you do with them?” Johnson said. “I don’t know what you can do with people like that.”
For Adams, she wants to make sure that the Open Air Market is a place where kids, families and residents can rest and relax downtown even when it’s not being actively used for events. This means keeping it clean and safe.
“I want families to know they are welcome here,” Adams said.
Wagner called homeless a “humanitarian” issue and a crisis that is growing across the country. He is hoping that, while the issue may not be of the numbers in urban areas, the county, social services and the community can begin to work together on a dialogue on addressing the needs of this small, but very much in need part of the population.
Casey Mann can be reached at CaseyMann@Chathamnr.com.