A makeshift homeless encampment off Ewing Road, often referred to by locals as “Tent City,” was recently cleared from private property owned by Cargill, resulting in the displacement of people who had been living in the wooded area.
The stretch of land – located between the 900 and 1200 blocks of Ewing Road – is part of the Owensboro Grain Co. property, which was acquired by Cargill in early 2023. The site is near Cargill’s active refinery and biodiesel plant.
David Fogle, founder of a nonprofit outreach group called Just People, said heavy equipment entered the area last week and began removing items left behind by individuals who had been living there. Fogle, whose team routinely distributes water, food, and other supplies to the unhoused population, said many of those residents have now scattered across the city.
“It was a bit of a mass exodus, if you will,” Fogle said. “People were kind of running out of there. When I went back later, there were a few still there, packing up what they had left.”
Fogle said he first noticed the change on July 9, after visiting the site and learning that individuals had been told to vacate. He said some residents reported being told that the cleanup crew would return the following day to finish clearing the site.
After multiple requests for comment about the situation, Cargill provided this statement to the Owensboro Times:
“We are actively working with local law enforcement and community officials on this matter, in compliance with local property laws. Our first priority, as always, is to keep our people safe while being a strong partner to the city of Owensboro.”
City officials emphasized that the location is private property, and the City of Owensboro’s role in such cases is limited to providing support to the property owner when requested. City officials did not provide any further statement.
Photos Fogle provided to Owensboro Times show the Tent City area before and after the removal.
Owensboro Times visited the area but did not enter the woods out of respect for posted private property signs. At least two visible trails led into the encampment area, but little could be seen due to the pathways turning and the thickness of the woods.
Fogle said he does not know who exactly ordered the cleanup, but he suspects it was either the City or the property owner responding to concerns about safety and liability. He referenced an incident in early July where a fire may have been intentionally set in the camp, raising potential safety concerns due to the nearby biodiesel infrastructure.
“There’s a fuel line running through there,” Fogle said. “Fire and fuel are a dangerous mix. If that fire had spread, it could have been a serious problem.”
A July 2 incident report obtained by OT via an open records request confirms Owensboro Police Department officers visited the encampment that morning and advised individuals that they were trespassing on private property. The report states that residents were given one week to vacate the area.
Further records obtained by OT from the City of Owensboro include multiple service requests and 911 call logs associated with the encampment. The calls came from a variety of sources, including private citizens and nearby businesses. Several callers reported disturbances, alleged illegal activity, and concerns about safety. The report indicated that some of the disputes were among those staying at the site.
Fogle said some individuals were arrested, but the charges were unrelated to trespassing and involved existing warrants.
Fogle emphasized that Just People is not opposed to City officials or law enforcement.
“These folks were just doing their jobs,” he said. “We don’t think anybody woke up wanting to bulldoze people’s homes. It’s just a tough situation all around.”
Fogle has been visiting Tent City and similar locations regularly through Just People, which he and his wife established after using their own money to provide coats and other essentials. Their nonprofit status, he said, was created for tax-exemption purposes — not for fundraising.
“I don’t have the answers. I used to ask what the solution is, but I stopped,” Fogle said. “Now I just love people where they’re at.”
Fogle’s work continues despite new legal challenges. The Safer Kentucky Act, which went into effect on July 15, 2024, makes it illegal to sleep or camp in public areas and criminalizes those who assist people engaged in such activity.
“I’m breaking the law, technically, but we’re not into civil disobedience. If police ask us to leave, we pack up and leave,” he said. “But we’ll still find these people and give them water, food, clothes, and hygiene items.”
Fogle spent some time on the streets to experience homelessness himself in March 2025 to better understand the people he serves. He chronicled the experience in a blog post, available at justpeople.love.
Harry Pedigo, executive director of the Pitino Shelter and St. Benedict’s Shelter, said the shelters stand ready to help those displaced, but stressed the importance of proactive outreach and understanding the deeper issues behind homelessness.
“In lieu of recent encampment closures/clean up, we know there are many who need help,” he said. “We at the Pitino Shelter and St. Ben’s Shelter are here to help each one of those individuals in so many ways. We hope that they make contact with us. After all, you cannot help anyone until they are willing to honestly look at underlying issues and ask/seek help. If we had known before this closure, we could’ve been proactive by offering services and shelter.”
He added that while shelter and services are available, deeper systemic barriers remain.
“We need to be more cognizant of what mental health issues, addictions, trauma, triggers, pride, bias, criminal records, identities, failed attempts, lack of hope, and many other barriers individuals may face that keep them from accepting help professionally and entering a facility,” he said.
Pedigo said outreach must be both intentional and mindful of the law.
“Now with laws criminalizing street camping, outreach is a delicate dance between help and being complicit in the laws being broken,” Pedigo said.
He encouraged the public to alert shelter staff if they are aware of encampments or individuals in need of support.
“It’s what we do, and we take each person’s life seriously. Each one of them matters and is someone’s somebody,” he said. “They [are] our neighbors that God commanded us to love them as ourselves.”
Fogle said he remains rooted in Just People’s mission.
“We’re just people,” Fogle added. “That’s where our name came from. We’re nobody important. We just love on people in need.”
