October 2007 Issue - Washington State Archives, Digital ...

Washington State Department of Corrections Newsletter

October 2007 Issue:

Stafford Creek Inmates Raise Thousands for Union Gospel Mission and American Cancer Society

DOC Assists Operation FALCON in 249 Arrests

Yoshida New Superintendent at Cedar Creek Corrections Center

Two DOC Prisons Receive Perfect Compliance for Their Wastewater Treatment

Skydiving for Adventure, and a Friend

Larch Corrections Center Scores 100 Percent on National Audit

McNeil Island Corrections Center Hosted "Back to School, Equipped and Healthy" Event

Stafford Creek Inmates Raise Thousands for Union Gospel Mission and American Cancer Society

Offenders housed at Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC) donated $1,500 to the Union Gospel Mission and an

additional $1,200 to the American Cancer Society.

The offenders who raised and donated the money are involved in SCCC¡¯s program called the Inside/Out Offender

Charity Work Group. This group assists charity groups, families, and individuals in the local community by organizing

quarterly fundraisers through local vendors and donation drives that are targeted at the offender population of SCCC.

¡°I found it quite interesting that a group of inmates were thoughtful enough to do something for the community,¡± said

Gary T. Rowell, Executive Director for Union Gospel Mission. ¡°This makes me think they are looking forward to

contributing to the community once released and it shows me that the system is helping these men make positive

changes in their lives.¡±

Over 500 offenders participate in the fundraisers, and approximately $1,000 is raised for each fundraiser. Sixteen

offender sponsors assist staff sponsors with fundraising ideas and help decide which charities receive the donations.

Staff sponsors include Coyote Ridge Corrections Center Superintendent Scott Frakes, Security & Logistics Administrator

Kerry Arlow, and Business Analyst Jim Dunivan.

The Inside/Out Offender Charity Work Group has contributed nearly $14,000 to several groups and programs, which

include: Student Needs Assistant Program, American Cancer Society, Union Gospel Mission, Beyond Survival Sexual

Assault Center, Gray¡¯s Harbor Children¡¯s Advocacy Center, Aberdeen Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, and Domestic

Violence Center of Gray¡¯s Harbor.

DOC Assists Operation FALCON in 249 Arrests

Several members of the Department of Corrections¡¯ Community Response Unit recently joined the U. S. Marshals

Service and various Western Washington law enforcement agencies in a special operation that resulted in the arrest of

249 fugitives -- 79 of whom were offenders wanted for violating conditions of DOC community supervision.

Operation FALCON (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally)¡ªWestern Washington took place from Aug. 20-24

and focused on Clark, King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

FALCON partners arrested fugitives wanted for crimes of violence, drug and firearms possession, and violations of

community supervision conditions. There were no gunshots, injuries or, high-speed chases during the operation. It was

[12/2/2010 9:01:13 AM]

Washington State Department of Corrections Newsletter

very well planned out and executed.

¡°We are pleased to work with the Marshals Service and our other law enforcement partners to assure that public¡¯s safety

by arresting fugitives and holding them accountable for their crimes and violations,¡± said Harold Clarke, DOC Secretary.

The 79 offenders arrested in Western Washington had outstanding DOC Secretary¡¯s Warrants. Additionally, preliminary

reports said 17 were classified as violent offenders; six were sex offenders who ceased mandatory reporting to their

sheriff¡¯s departments and at least two of the offenders had weapons.

Participating staff from the Department of Corrections:

Scott Wilcox, Fili Matua, Brian Ford, John Tulloch, Colby Karlson, John DeGroat, Jen Thomas, Jim McGinnis, Kris

Rongen, Ryan Ellis, Shawn Galetti, Ian Wallace, Robert Strayer, Henry Pineda, Bill Wolfe, Mike Woodruff, Doug

Daviscourt, Jake Whitehurst, Nic Weber, and Mike Poston

Participating Agencies:

Department of Corrections, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol,

Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Social Security Inspector General¡¯s Office, as well as sheriff¡¯s departments

from King, Pierce, Snohomish and Clark counties.

Yoshida New Superintendent at Cedar Creek Corrections Center

Hisami Yoshida has been appointed Superintendent of Cedar Creek Corrections Center.

Yoshida, who joined the Department of Corrections 17 years ago, previously held positions at

three correctional facilities, including McNeil Island Corrections Center, Washington Corrections

Center for Women, and Washington Corrections Center. Her prison work has included a variety of

positions starting with Classification Counselor and ranging up to Associate Superintendent.

Yoshida has also held several positions at DOC Headquarters. Those include Assistant Program

Administrator for Offender Programs, Female Offender Services Manager, Offender Re-entry

Manager, as well as several project leads on agency wide initiatives.

Hisami

Yoshida

Her appointment was effective Sept. 16.

Two DOC Prisons Receive Perfect Compliance for Their Wastewater Treatment

Representatives from the Department of Ecology

presented McNeil Island Corrections Center

(MICC) and Olympic Corrections Center (OCC)

with the ¡°Outstanding Wastewater Treatment

Plant¡± award at the DOC Executive Leadership

Team meeting in August.

Since the 1970s, Ecology has been tracking on

a monthly basis how well treatment facilities do

at maintaining water quality. They honor

operators of treatment plants that have no spills

into Washington¡¯s waters, pass every

environmental test, and analyze all samples

according to their requirements. Currently, 321

plants are regulated throughout Washington

State, and only one in five achieve perfect

compliance.

Not all DOC prison facilities have wastewater

treatment plants or pre-treatment of wastewater.

Mike Henry, Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator and John Aldana,

Superintendent Stand by OCC's Wastewater Treatment Plant

[12/2/2010 9:01:13 AM]

Washington State Department of Corrections Newsletter

However, some facilities are equipped with their own water and wastewater systems, complete with sewage treatments

plants that must be closely monitored. These facilities are regulated to keep pollution out of our water. Each month,

treatment plant operators must perform a myriad of tests on the water that has undergone various phases of treatment.

By the time the used water is released to rivers, streams, lakes, and Puget Sound, it must show a high level of

compliance.

In addition to the perfect¨Ccompliance records of MICC and OCC, Cedar Creek Corrections Center was honored for

nearly achieving 100 percent compliance; Cedar Creek had only one weekend during all of 2006 where it did not achieve

compliance..

Skydiving for Adventure, and a Friend

What started as a lark has become a

passion for DOC employee Tam Snell.

And now she has found a way to use

her love of skydiving to help her friend

and others who suffer from a crippling

disease.

Snell, an Administrative Assistant at

Larch Corrections Center in Clark

County, recently helped organize a

fund-raising skydive for the Leap for

Lupus Foundation

(), a Kitsap

County-based nonprofit organization.

Seventy skydivers recently circled the

sky over Shelton, preparing to set a

new Pacific Northwest record for the

largest skydiving formation.

The skydivers practiced Aug. 18 and 19

for the record-setting plummet, but rain

washed out the attempt Aug. 20.

Tam Snell, an Administrative Assistant at Larch Corrections Center, was one of

25 skydivers who set a record in 2005 for the largest all-female formation.

¡°The planes couldn¡¯t make it up in that

weather,¡± Snell said. ¡°It was really disappointing, because we had everything lined up.¡±

Still, the group raised more than $15,000 for a donation to Washington State University researchers who are searching

for a cure for lupus, a chronic autoimmune disorder. Snell, whose friend has lupus, said the group might organize

another record-setting attempt next year.

¡°We have a great time doing this, and it helps a great cause,¡± Snell said. ¡°It¡¯s the perfect combination.¡±

Snell¡¯s skydiving career started in 1994 when a friend¡¯s mother planned an ¡°extreme¡± 50th birthday celebration. For the

other 19 people who went along with the whimsical birthday wish, it was a one-time thrill. But Snell found that she

wanted jump again ¨C and again, and again, and again.

She has jumped more than 700 times over the past 13 years. It literally has altered her life. She met her husband in

1999 at a skydiving event in Arizona. A few years later the Vancouver, British Columbia, native moved to her husband¡¯s

hometown of Longview and started working at nearby Larch Corrections Center three years ago.

Snell in 2005 helped set a record for the largest all-female formation when 25 skydivers jumped near Bremerton.

¡°It was an amazing experience,¡± she recalled. ¡°I¡¯ll never forget it.¡±

She¡¯ll also never forget her most painful jump, which nearly killed her. On her 13th jump, Snell shattered her right femur

and hip, broke her nose, cheek and other bones in her face, suffered a severe concussion and didn¡¯t leave a hospital for

six months.

Yet within months of her recovery, she was back in the sky and falling toward solid earth at 120 mph.

[12/2/2010 9:01:13 AM]

Washington State Department of Corrections Newsletter

¡°I know some of my friends think I¡¯m nuts,¡± Snell said, ¡°but this is what I love.¡±

Now that she is an active member of Leap for Lupus, Snell said her passion for skydiving has grown even more.

¡°This is the best way I know how to make a difference,¡± she said.

Larch Corrections Center Scores 100 Percent on National Audits

The Department of Corrections¡¯ Larch Corrections Center scored 100 percent on mandatory standards and 98 percent on

non-mandatory standards in a national accreditation audit.

The audit results put the prison on track to be accredited by the American Correctional Association (ACA) in January.

The comprehensive audit examines all aspects of how correctional facilities are maintained and operated to ensure that

prisons are managed safely and effectively.

Opened in 1956 as a fire camp, Larch Corrections Center has undergone many changes and expansions over the

decades. In recent years it has changed its mission and added additional services for offenders including a Therapeutic

Community, an innovate unit that encourages success through common goals among offenders.

The facility scored 100 percent despite having many buildings that are more than 50 years old.

¡°It¡¯s a credit to the staff that they have taken such great care of the facility and squeezed maximum service out of it,¡±

said Assistant Deputy Secretary Dick Morgan, prison administrator for Western Washington.

No other DOC facility is located as far away from other prisons as Larch Corrections Center, yet staff members and

administrators play an active role in statewide activities.

¡°It¡¯s a testament to the dedication of the staff,¡± Morgan said.

ACA accreditation helps ensure the agency¡¯s facilities use the most effective correctional practices, provide safe

environments for the public, staff and offenders, and are clean and well-operated. Located in Alexandria, Va., ACA

() is the only national organization that accredits correctional facilities.

This is the first time DOC has attempted to get all 15 of its prisons nationally accredited, a goal set by Secretary Harold

Clarke. All 15 DOC work-release facilities have been accredited by ACA.

Coyote Ridge Corrections Center, Airway Heights Corrections Center, Stafford Creek Corrections Center, Cedar Creek

Corrections Center and Clallam Bay Corrections Center were accredited in August at the bi-annual ACA convention in

Kansas City, Mo. Olympic Corrections Center is on track to be accredited in January, the same time as Larch Corrections

Center.

Audits at the state¡¯s other eight prisons are scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2008.

McNeil Island Corrections Center Hosted "Back to School, Equipped and Healthy" Event

McNeil Island Corrections Center helped send 118 children back to school well supplied and in good health by

hosting the annual ¡°Back to School, Equipped and Healthy¡± event on Aug. 20.

The children received backpacks stuffed with school supplies, brand new fiction books, bicycle helmets, fluoride

varnishes and dental screening, height/weight checks, health kits, hats, and some kids spun a prize wheel and

received a gift card to Toys R Us.

¡°The primary goal of the event is to provide resources and to show that MICC cares about the kids in our community,

said Community Involvement Program Coordinator Kim Govreau. ¡°These kids are our future, and we are investing in

our future. Every child deserves to have the same supplies as everyone else and to know that adults in the

community care about them.

Partners in this year¡¯s event were St. Clare Hospital, World Vision, Harbor Christian Center, Tacoma/Pierce County

[12/2/2010 9:01:13 AM]

Washington State Department of Corrections Newsletter

medical and dental outreach, McNeil Island Health & Wellness, McNeil Island Fire Dept., Big Brothers/Big Sisters of

King and Pierce Counties, and the Pierce County Reading Foundation.

? 2007 Washington State Department of Corrections

You are receiving this e-newsletter as a subscriber to Department of Corrections News.

If you would like to unsubscribe, or if you received this e-newsletter from someone else and

would like to sign up, visit our Listserv Subscribe/Unsubscribe page.

For comments/suggestions, please send us an e-mail.

[12/2/2010 9:01:13 AM]

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download