20
Wednesday, June 15, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
ARREST: Trooper
stopped pursuit
for safety
Continued from page 1
complex on Full Moon
Drive.
The driver, identified
as Justin Scott Kraupa, 27,
of Albany, attempted to
flee on foot but was cap-
tured by members of the
Deschutes County Sheriff’s
Office and Bend Police
Department. He was taken
into custody without further
incident.
Agencies involved were
the Deschutes County
Sheriff’s Office, Bend Police
Department and the Oregon
State Police.
FIRE: Weather
helped keep blaze
to 2,000 acres
Continued from page 1
around the state to assist
local fire departments in bat-
tling the fire.
Firefighters got an assist
from a change in the weather
that brought cooler tempera-
tures and calmer conditions
through the weekend. They
took full advantage of the
reprieve to get the fire fully
lined by Friday.
As of press time, the fire
was 80 percent contained
and fire officials were con-
fident that containment
lines could withstand a
mild test associated with a
warming trend and stronger
winds.
As of Monday, there were
537 personnel fighting the
fire at a cost of $950,000.
Year-round
FIREWOOD
SALES
— Kindling —
—
—
SISTERS
FOREST PRODUCTS
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SistersForestProducts.com
Looking
Outward
Dan Glode
Columnist
Prisons and
schools
Jails and prisons are the
compliment of schools. So
many less you have of the
latter the more you have of
the former.
– Horace Mann
Over the years I have
read about the challenges
the Sisters School District
has had with their budget.
They are endlessly trying
to squeeze more out of a
budget which keeps getting
tighter and tighter. They
seem to have risen to the
challenge, but the challenge
gets more difficult year by
year.
Last year, Oregon spent
just under $10,000 per stu-
dent on K-12 education. Our
state ranks 32nd among all
states in the amount spent
per student, a very poor
showing. Back in 1995
we were among the states
spending the most per pupil
and we were in the top 1/4
of the nation on average.
In addition to that we also
have the second highest
student/teacher ratio in the
country. That is terrible and
embarrassing.
I think part of the rea-
son (not all) is that we have
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chosen to build prisons over
investing in our schools.
During the period between
1983-2013 the Department
of Corrections (DOC) bud-
get went up four times. We
now spend two times on
prisons what we spend on
state colleges and universi-
ties and, I believe, we are
the only state that spends
that proportion. We spend
less than $10,000 per year to
keep a kid in school but over
$30,000 to keep an inmate in
prison.
How did all this happen?
Let me give you my take.
I became district attor-
ney for Lincoln County in
1989. At that time when we
convicted a defendant of
a serious felony the judge
often sentenced him or her
to prison for a determinant
sentence. So if a defendant
got a 10-year sentence the
public assumed they would
serve a fair amount of time
in prison. Not so. Due to
prison overcrowding many
defendants who were sen-
tenced to years in prisons got
only a few months and were
released into the community
by the parole board. Some
served a few months, oth-
ers a few weeks, days or, in
some cases they were almost
immediately released. It was
an untenable system and the
public was furious — and
justifiably so.
A task force was formed
by the governor to look at
alternatives, and they devel-
oped a sentencing guide-
line system which passed
the state legislature in 1989
and was implemented soon
thereafter. Briefly, a chart
was developed which took
into consideration the seri-
ousness of the offense and
the defendant’s criminal
history. Where the lines
converged was number of
10
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months (a range) and in that
range was a prison sentence
a judge could impose. This
system took away some
authority from the judges
and the parole board. It basi-
cally was a way to allocate
an existing resource and pro-
vide sentencing consistency.
It did do that, but the public
perception was that the time
served was woefully inad-
equate and it probably was
for more serious offenses.
The guidelines system is still
used for non-person crimes.
But, during the 1990s
crime and gang-related
crime was raging. Pushed
by Rep. Kevin Mannix,
angry Oregon voters over-
whelmingly passed Measure
11. For 21 “person” crimes,
stiff, mandatory sentences
were required (murder, fel-
ony assault, rape, etc.) and it
was decided the remand sys-
tem would be discarded and
everyone from the age of 15
to adulthood would be tried
and sentenced as adults.
There was no early
release for good behavior
— or any reason. Sentences
were for a specific period of
time and they were lengthy.
Defendants who commit-
ted multiple offenses could
have their sentences stacked
consecutively. Oregon went
on a prison-building boom.
Our percentage of people
incarcerated per population
is not outrageous, but when
incarceration is required per
Measure 11 the sentences
are lengthy and rigid.
Prosecutors gained an
enormous amount of power
under this scheme since
what is charged ultimately
affects the final sentence
outcome with certainty. The
judge’s role was again mini-
mized. If one gets convicted
of a Measure 11 offense
the specific sentence is
predetermined.
I am not opposed to most
of this, but I think we have
to remember an iron law
of incarceration: almost all
inmates get out. So while
sentencing a 15-year-old
to 10 years in prison takes
them off the street for that
time, they are out when they
are 25 years old. We, in this
state, do miserably dealing
with offender re-entry and
our recidivism rate shows it.
Don’t get me wrong.
There are a lot of people
for whom we need to keep
a wall between them and
us. (Certain sex offenders,
repeat offenders, etc.). I do
think, however, we need to
take another look at the sys-
tem as a whole and deter-
mine the purpose of incar-
ceration for each defendant.
For some it may to keep that
wall there; for others it may
be to rehabilitate. If the lat-
ter is the case then prisons
are a tool, not an end in
themselves.
For some, we need to
take an honest shot at get-
ting them reintegrated, as
in the case of some younger
offenders. We need to build
a bit more flexibility in the
system. We need to do more.
There is a linkage
between sentencing a defen-
dant somewhere in Oregon
and our own local educa-
tion system. Money for one
takes away from money for
the other. It’s time we took
an honest, comprehensive
look at it.
You are invited to the 1st
Thirsty Thursday
June 23
from
4 to 7 p.m.
at
Eurosports
Food Cart
Garden
Dog & Family Friendly!
Raise a paw!
A portion of the
beer & wine sales are
donated to Furry Friends
Foundation.
Corner of Hood & Fir • Sisters
541-549-2471 • 7 days a week
Celebrating 25 years