Opening Minds Brews Hope for Project Dove

The Snake River Correctional Minimum (SRCM) facility’s Opening Minds of the Communities Club arranged a successful coffee and creamer fundraiser, donating the proceeds to Project Dove. Through hard work, planning, flexibility, patience, and teamwork, the AICs were able to donate an impressive $1337.53! Both the club president and Project Dove’s director expressed sincere appreciation for the shared opportunity to support those in need.

Thank you to the Opening Minds Club, the 541 participating AICs, and the dedicated SRCM staff for making this donation possible. And a special thank you to the AIC volunteers, who devoted their spare time to crochet the hats, scarves, and stuffed animals!

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Warner Creek Works Towards a Shared Cause

The Warner Creek Correctional Facility (WCCF) community work crew warms the hearts and homes of low-income seniors and veterans through a collaborative community firewood program.

Collins Pine donates logs to the Lake County community that are unsuitable for milling, then the WCCF work crew cuts and splits these logs into firewood. The Lake County Community Corrections crew delivers the firewood to qualifying recipients.

This program is a community driven effort that exists on a voluntary basis through the generosity of several providers.

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Wildland Suppression Crew at South Fork Forest Camp

The Wildland Suppression Crew from the Oregon Department of Correction’s (DOC) South Fork Forest Camp (SFFC) deployed to Ball Bearing Fire, roughly 12 miles east of Carlton, Oregon. This was only day one of a three-day process. Adults in custody (AICs) and the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) staff took hand tools and water hoses to the side of this mountain. The Wildland Fire Fighters pushed their way through acres of land, cutting and digging deep under stumps, roots, and rocks.

Since 1951, ODF has utilized Oregon Department of Corrections adults in custody to help reforest and protect state forest lands. ODF trains and supervises AIC crews to perform a variety of key forest management and protection projects. It is the largest and oldest work camp in the Pacific Northwest. Work crews perform forest management in eleven counties in northwest Oregon, assist with disaster relief efforts, and engage in fire suppression statewide. In a given year, South Fork Camp can produce up to 28,000-man days of skilled adults in custody labor saving the state millions in labor costs.

This interagency partnership allows adults in custody to gain valuable work skills while providing economic, social, and environmental benefits for Oregonians.

South Fork Forest Camp Saves the Day

South Fork Crews spent 16 days providing Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) with the manpower to complete a very special task. ODFW needed to mark (fin clip) a very particular fin for the fish they are raising and did not have the manpower to get the task accomplished in time. The adults in custody (AICs) at South Fork stepped up and got just over 300,000 Fall Chinook clipped to make this a successful year for the Klaskanine Salmon Fish Hatchery project. The team at ODFW was so impressed with the hard work and effort put into this project, they provided the crew with BBQ ribs and Root beer. This is a well-deserved lunch for the adults in custody. They even ended their day tossing a football around.

South Fork has been invited back next year to help with the fin clipping project and will no doubt make the Department of Corrections proud once again!

Jacobe’s GED

Oregon State Penitentiary celebrates their Behavioral Health Unit’s first GED graduate – Jacobe Owens!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is April-2023-Blog-OSP-BHU-Grad-2-1-768x1024.jpg — Jacobe Owens

“My name’s Jacobe. I’m 26 and I finally got my GED. Now, I’ve been through a lot regarding this COVID and having to be patient to finish my GED. I finally got it and I really appreciate DOC continuing to be consistent with helping me achieve the GED. I also want to say that no matter what obstacles were in my way, I rose to the top and achieved this. And just because the DOC members and everybody that consistently chose to help get me through this, I will not stop here. I will continue to get my education, going to community college now that I’ve got two free years of college.”

“To all the DOC staff, I thank you.”
Jacobe Owens

A Toast to the Toastmasters

There is no debate, Theron Hall, cherishes the Toastmasters Club at the Oregon State Penitentiary

The President of the Capital Toastmasters Club tells his story…

Theron Hall, President, Capital Toastmasters

“For twenty plus years, the Oregon State Penitentiary has had support from local colleges and universities, and we have been competing in debates with them. Our goal was to greatly improve our debate program and with the support of our prison administration, College Professors, and our members, we have done just that. In 2009, Professors from Willamette University, Linfield College, and Northwest Christian University began volunteering their time to teach a Parliamentary style debate class to our members. At that point, our debate program began to flourish. In addition to our monthly meetings, cognitive classes, and speech contests, we now hold three debates a year with local colleges and universities and one debate tournament a year.
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