Construction begins on fencing project surrounding Greens apartments, in response to recent thefts
Fence posts for the future fence at the Blaine Street apartments on February 7.
February 7, 2023
On the far edge of Linfield University’s campus lies little green apartments on Blaine Street, commonly known as “the Greens.” The residents of these apartments are wedged between Murdock Hall and Highway 99, making them the prime location for non-college passerby.
This semester alone, three incidents of theft, including of patio furniture, and two car break-ins have been reported at the Greens. Additionally, two complaints were lodged following incidents at other locations in which suspects had wandered through the apartments, dropping off stolen property. Two years ago, a non-Linfield person broke into an unlocked Greens apartment.
“My roommate had some stuff off of her bike stolen, but we’ve also heard stories about people’s cars getting broken into and suspicious people hanging out,” Calley Rupert, a senior resident at the apartments, said. “It feels a little unsafe and scary.”
Linfield’s new security camera system has recorded several of the incidents leading to arrests, but Dennis Marks, head of campus security, said they considered several solutions.
“With all that has been happening we’ve been discussing solutions with my team, Jeff Mackay’s team in Student Affairs and Allison Horn’s team in Facilities,” Marks said. “One of the things that was offered was to put outside furniture in storage until we can get a better solution.”
On November 15, a new solution arose: a fence. In an attempt to keep non-Linfield community members out of the apartments and the courtyard, Linfield facilities has been working with contractors to enclose Blaine Street residences. Residents of the Greens were notified that construction would begin on February 7.
Three self-closing and self-locking gates will be located along the fence, which residents have to key into. The courtyard and inward-facing doors will be enclosed, but not the resident parking area or backdoors of the Greens apartments.
The fencing and gates are set to be completed in spring semester, but in the meantime, campus security and McMinnville police have upped patrols in the area.
“Ever since it started happening, LPS has really upped their game. There’s always someone patrolling and sometimes there’s a police car parked out front,” Rupert said.