| Corrections News On-Line September 2003 |
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| Director's Message |
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When I first joined the DOC as a correctional officer at the penitentiary, I never would have believed it, if someone said I would one day be sitting in the director’s chair. Yet, 27 years later, here I am. Although I decided not to apply for the permanent director position, it’s an honor to serve as interim director for this agency and its employees. I literally couldn’t do it without all of you.
Spending the better part of three decades in the DOC gives me a great appreciation of the quantity and high quality of work it takes to run this agency. And we do it well. Since my first day on the job in 1976, our population has grown from about 2,500 inmates to more than 12,000 today. Over the years of working together we opened new prisons, developed programs to reduce recidivism, and built one of the best correctional workforces in the nation.
We -- as employees of the Oregon Department of Corrections -- have good reason to hold our heads high. I am both humbled and proud to be your leader until the new director is hired. I look forward to my continued work with all of you.
Note: The Legislature adjourned Wednesday evening, and our budget is expected to be signed by the governor soon. I will send out a recap on legislation relating to the DOC to all of you next week.
With high regards,
Nick Armenakis, Interim Director
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| TRCI CENTS Program |
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While it’s never happened, the potential of an escape from Two Rivers Correctional Institution concerned the TRCI Prison Advisory Committee. The committee asked the institution to develop the means to effectively advise neighbors surrounding the prison in the event of an escape from the secure perimeter. TRCI’s new “Community Escape Notification Tree System” (CENTS) will do just that.
TRCI’s Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Capt. Sonny Rider decided to take at look at what other institutions were doing. “I was particularly impressed with Powder River’s ability to contact the public and post special ‘flags’ to alert the public,” says Rider. “I also wanted to make use of the new ODOC Photoview program.”
Working with PAC Chair Tony George, Rider created TRCI’s "Community Escape Notification Tree System” (CENTS). In the event of an escape, participating PAC members will receive an email that includes a color photo of the escapee. They, in turn, will forward the e-mail on to others in their contact “tree.” The institution will send the notification to the surrounding area when the commander authorizes its release to alert the general public and to encourage them to contact local law enforcement if necessary. Contacts also will include the manager of the local hospital emergency room in case an escapee shows up for medical assistance.
If the commander in charge finds it necessary, the prison also may release escape information using the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) and its “Tone Alert Radio.” Given to all homes in the area, these radios are used notify residents of a chemical spill emergency from the Umatilla Chemical Army Depot. In this case, a message in both English and Spanish would alert the public to secure their areas and report to local law enforcement any suspicious persons/activity.
“We couldn’t have done this without the TRCI team and the cooperation of the PAC and CSEPP staff,” says Capt. Rider. “Everyone came together to help us build an advantageous system that we hope will never be used … but could narrow an escape margin if it is needed.”
For more information, contact Capt. Rider at (541) 922-6055 or by e-mail to: sonny.rider@doc.state.or.us.
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| ISSD Update: E-Mail Etiquette |
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NOTE: In light of the especially nasty viruses and worms recently attacking computers and shutting down entire networks, all employees are reminded not to open non-DOC e-mail programs through the Internet from any DOC network computer. Doing so bypasses anti-virus protection and puts the department’s network in danger. ISSD monitors Internet access logs. If the log shows a staff computer bypassing the virus protection, the user will be deleted from the network and will require management approval of a new user authorization form before being reconnected to the system. For more information, contact ISSD Operations Manger Jerry Johnson at
(503) 378-3798, ext. 22405 or by e-mail: jerry.r.johnson@doc.state.or.us.
Viruses, chain letters and SPAM
While the DOC has some good protections in place to protect us from threats from viruses, chain letters and SPAM, there is much the end user can do to protect themselves and our system:
- Never open an email from someone you do not know or looks suspicious. E-mail could contain a virus or worm, or you could be unwittingly added to a SPAM list by simply opening the e-mail. Contact the Helpdesk if you think you’ve received a virus or excessive SPAM.
- Don’t generate or forward chain letters or joke e-mails. Not only is it unprofessional, it’s annoying and a risk to the network. Chain letters can contain viruses and clog up the e-mail system. Some jokes and chain letters are offensive to others. They also can fill up individual e-mail boxes with junk, only to cause legitimate e-mail to bounce.
E-mail Storage and Network Bandwidth
Our computer system’s capacity has its limits. Please keep the following points in mind when composing and sending e-mail:
- Avoid sending large attachments of any kind, especially if you’re sending to multiple recipients. Sending large attachments clogs up bandwidth and has a huge impact on storage systems. If you must send a large attachment to multiple recipients, consider sending a link to the original attachment instead or put the attachment in a public folder. That way only one copy of the attachment is stored on the system instead of a copy for each recipient.
- Compress or “zip” large attachments before sending. Most files can be compressed or zipped prior to sending. Some file types get compressed more then others (bitmaps are much larger then JPEGs).
- Avoid using stationary: Stationary is essentially the same as sending out a graphic file each time you hit the send button. The same goes for animated signatures, flashing icons, etc.
E-Mail Privacy
There is no such thing. Never assume your e-mail communications are private. They can be intercepted and read by others, either intentionally or not. We’ve all seen private e-mails intended for one person be sent to an entire distribution list. A good guideline is don’t put in an e-mail what you wouldn’t like to see posted on the employee bulletin board. E-mail sent from or received on department computers is the property of the DOC, and should be treated likewise.
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| Employee Suggestion Awards |
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BDUs May Result in Bucks
The State of Oregon Employee Suggestion Awards Program (ESAP) encourages and rewards state employees’ creativity and ideas for improved efficiency and effectiveness. Since 1980, ESAP has received more than 13,000 suggestions, adopted more than 3,200 of those, and achieved more than $18 million in verified savings. The Department of Corrections has been well represented in the program.
A good example is a recommendation from Snake River’s Capt. John Smith and Cpl. Keith Ishida. They submitted the suggestion that instead of issuing uniformed staff three pairs of dress pants, the department instead issue one pair of dress pants and two pairs of BDU pants. The suggestion included recommendations for modifying the BDUs for comfort, style and efficiency (the new BDU pant looks like a cargo-style uniform pant with the exterior pocket higher on the thigh for easier access. The waistband is adjustable to allow for weight loss or gain and the knees are double-sewn for longer wear).
The cost of the new pant is less than half that for dress pants and will wear longer. The switch is estimated to save the department more than $100,000 a year. After ESAP verifies the savings, Smith and Ishida could receive the maximum award of $5,000. Joseph Klika was also recognized as “ESAP Nominator of the Month” for submitting the suggestion on their behalf to the Employee Suggestion Awards Commission.
Suggestions with no dollar savings or cost benefit are also recognized in the program for improving customer service or safety improvements.
For more information, go on-line to: www.hr.das.state.or.us/suggestions or contact DOC’s ESAP coordinator Denise Turner at (503) 945-9006 or by e-mail to: denise.turner@doc.state.or.us.
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| DOC Payroll News |
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PERS Retirement Calculators On-Line
PERS has benefit calculators to provide an estimated account balance and monthly benefit amounts for many retirement options (the calculator for Police & Fire employees with fewer than 25 years’ service will be ready soon). The calculator uses the following criteria:
- The actuarial table used is based on age in whole years only.
- The maximum age difference between the member and beneficiary can only be 15 years in order to receive creditable estimated benefit amounts for the full and half survivor retirement options.
- Unused vacation hours are valued using the annual salary you enter. When the annual salary entered includes overtime, the value of unused vacation hours will be overstated. This may result in a higher than normal estimated account balance and monthly benefit amount.
- Contributions are only included through December 31, 2003.
- Account earnings:
- Variable earnings received to retirement for all retirement dates.
- Regular earnings received to retirement for all retirement dates for Tier Two members.
- Regular earnings, for Tier One members, received:
- To date of retirement when the retirement date is on or before March 1, 2004.
- To December 31, 2002 when the retirement date is April 1, 2004 or after.
Here are the links to the calculators:
View retirement eligibility requirements:http://www.pers.state.or.us/RetirementEstimate/full_and_reduce_benefits.html
Calculate a Tier One retirement benefit:
http://www.pers.state.or.us/RetirementEstimate/recalc.plx?tierOne=Yes
Calculate a Tier Two retirement benefit:
http://www.pers.state.or.us/RetirementEstimate/recalc.plx?tierOne=No
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| More News... |
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- Congratulations to Oregon State Penitentiary Chaplain James Jacobson, who was named “Chaplain of the Year” by the American Correctional Association at its annual congress in Nashville on August 12. The award is presented each year to acknowledge the achievements and ministry of one individual in the prison chaplaincy field.
- Nichole Brown is the new administrator of the Workforce Development, Education and Training Unit of DOC’s Correctional Programs Division. She succeeds Shannon DeLateur, who recently retired.
- Randy Everitt is the new Investigations Administrator, joining the department in July. Randy was most recently the DPSST Assistant Director of Training at the Academy.
- Stacy Lesikar is the DOC’s new senior Internal Auditor. She joins us from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
- Tom Ruddiman was selected to become Central Accounting manager in August. The position was formerly held by Christy Tanguy, who left the department in February 2002
- Carolyn Schnoor assumed the Rules/Compliance/Hearings Administrator position in June. She succeeds Dave Shumacher, who retired.
- Powder River Correctional Facility has an updated phone system with new voice mail capacity. Some numbers have changed. Superintendent Dan Johnson is now at (541) 523-9877. If you don’t know the extension of a staff member, dial the PRCF main number (541) 523-6680 and access a directory of extensions by staff name by pressing the # key.
- Congratulations to Snake River Correctional Institution, which received its third straight certification by the OR-OSHA Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). SRCI was recognized for attaining a high level of occupational safety and health management, reduced injuries and illnesses, and for demonstrating that occupational safety and health can work for everyone.
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| Coming Events: |
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Albany - September 20: Oregon Criminal Justice Association Annual Open Invitational Fall Pistol Match and Golf Tournament: Individual and team competitions, as well as a civilian category. Cost: $40, includes lunch at T-shirt. For more information, contact Todd Cooper at (541) 682-2053 or by e-mail: todd.cooper@co.lane.or.us .
Salem - September 27: 2003 DOC Annual Golf Tournament: This four-person scramble format tournament sponsored by the OSP Fitness Center is open to all DOC and OCE employees and retirees. Each team must have at least one employee or retiree on it. A maximum of three guests will be allowed per employee/retiree. Location: Santiam Golf Course in Stayton, 8:00 a.m. “shotgun start.” Cost: $55 per player/$220per team includes greens fees, lunch, skill prizes and t-shirt. Proceeds from the tournament raffle will be donated to the Tyler Fritz Euromed Clinic Fund. For more information, call Jerry Long at (503) 378-2010 or Ron West at (503) 373-7604 ext. 254.
Baker City - October 6: DOC Annual Awards Ceremony: 1:30 p.m. at the Oregon Trail Regional Museum, 2475 Grove Street. For more information, contact Denise Turner at (503) 945-9006 or by e-mail to denise.turner@doc.state.or.us.
DOC Corrections News
Oregon Department of Corrections
Ben de Haan, Interim Director
The mission of the Oregon Department of Corrections is to
promote public safety by holding offenders accountable for their
actions and reducing the risk of future criminal behavior.
For more information or to submit story ideas, please call Nancy Sellers in DOC Public Affairs
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