From Training to Action – SWAT Team’s Heroic Response to Roadside Emergency

While attending a Special Operators’ Course for DOC SWAT candidates at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution near Madras, Oregon, members of the instructor cadre were called to action—off the training field and into the real world.

On the evening of Monday, April 14, 2025, after wrapping up their daily end-of-day meeting, the cadre was traveling back to their lodging when they witnessed a serious accident. A double tractor-trailer hauling hay collided with a small car, sending it over the edge of a hill toward an embankment above the Safeway parking lot in Madras.

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Honoring the Bond – Unity and Hope Behind the Walls of OSP

The Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP) Veterans Association recently hosted an impactful event focused on the strength of veterans supporting one another—both inside and outside the walls. The gathering brought together incarcerated veterans, leaders from the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) and Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs (ODVA), and several community organizations committed to veteran support.

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Hope, Growth, and U-PACT

The Ironworkers Local 29, Bricklayers Local 1, and Cement Masons Local 555, partnering with the Union Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training (U-PACT) program, offer a 12-week training to the men at South Fork Forest Camp.

U-PACT Oregon is a pre-apprenticeship program designed to provide basic to intermediate trade skills to adults in custody that will prepare them for a career in one of the three represented trades, reduce recidivism, and positively impact Oregon’s economy.

U-PACT Oregon participants take part in a fast-paced classroom and hands-on pre-apprenticeship program. They earn their OSHA 10 card and receive training in various trade-specific topics, as well as various life skills that will prepare them for a successful career and future outside of prison.

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