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By KALEN CHURCHER [email protected]
Friday, August 01, 2003 Page: 1A
A pair of socks set out to dry, a toothbrush placed inside a small basket
and a bag of meat from a nearby supermarket.
All items commonly found in any house, except in this case, the socks rest
on a fallen tree, the toothbrush holder is in a pile of dirt, and the
groceries sit stuffed in a backpack under the afternoon sun.
Shortly after the body of Mark Charles Weaver was found July 26 in the area
of the old Carey Avenue Bridge, two drifters who had been living in a tent
nearby were questioned as potential witnesses.
Mark Neil Golden, the man living in the tent, was arrested on charges
unrelated to the homicide. Police discovered he was a sex offender who failed
to register with state police. The name of the woman has not been released.
Several police chiefs who patrol along the Susquehanna River say finding
drifters or the homeless camping along the banks is not nearly as prevalent as
a decade ago. Sprucing up the levee system and creating waterfront parks deter
drifters from setting up camps, some say.
“(Squatters) are not much of a problem anymore,” said Plymouth police Chief
Myles Collins. Folks may fish along the river, but makeshift living quarters
just aren’t commonplace, he said.
Not common, but in existence.
Take a short walk along the river in the same vicinity where the drifters
were found and at least two campsites can be found. A rickety wooden fort
makes up the first location, with a bag of charcoal, strewn Old Milwaukee cans
and clothes scattered nearby.
Though the area could arguably have been a one-night stop, less than 50
yards away and up a 5-foot embankment, there’s an elaborate, more permanent
looking site.
Cardboard pieces and a “South will rise again” pillow make a decent bed. An
ashtray sits nearby. An old backpack is filled with fresh meat, canned goods
and some clothes. Women’s underwear lie crumpled near a stick of men’s
deodorant and a small pot, but the owner is nowhere to be found.
It’s not a far walk back to the top of the levee where people walk their
dogs and ride bicycles. One woman says she has been exercising in that area
for nearly a year and has never seen anyone but fishermen and kids. She’s not
afraid of vagrants, but admits she walks there only in the day.
Pittston Police Chief Paul Porfirio remembers an old signal station by
Coxton Yards that was once a prime location for homeless drifters, but things
have changed.
“We haven’t had a problem with squatters in years,” he said. “We used to
have them walk the tracks and then they’d sleep (in the train cars). … That
was back when I was a patrolman in the early nineties.”
Pittston’s Riverfront Project means more foot traffic near the levee,
making the area less attractive to potential squatters. A similar scenario
keeps people from living along the Wilkes-Barre portion of the river, said
police Chief Tony George.
The city’s equestrian patrol monitors the river lands, and “stragglers” are
typically the only problem in the parks, he said.
Kalen Churcher, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7329.