Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2000)
County looking for funds to ease filled jail ■ Opponents to new jail building suggest alternative law enforcement options By Andrew Adams Oregon Daily Emerald Faced with an overcrowded jail and an underused juvenile deten tion center, Lane County is looking to raise funds to expand its criminal justice system. Nearly 4,500 prisoners left the county jail before completing their sentences last year, and Sheriff Jan Clements hopes voters will approve measures 20-38 and 20-39 this No vember to cut that number back. Stephen Carmichael, director for the John Serbu Youth Campus at the Lane County Juvenile Justice Cen ter, is also campaigning for the measures because he says they will force more young offenders to face the consequences of their crimes. But the opposition, led by grass roots political activist Steve Kutch er, says that if voters approve the measures, they will provide fund ing for unnecessary prisons. Ballot Measure 20-38 would gen erate $10 million a year for four years by increasing property taxes 55 cents for every $1,000 of assessed property value. These funds would support a larger population at the county in mate work camp and Juvenile Justice Center, add staff to supervise the in creased populations and open a fe male wing of the juvenile center’s al cohol and drug treatment center. Ballot Measure 20-39 would pro vide more than $8 million to build a new jail intake center that would al low the incoming population to in crease by 65 people. Like 20-38, Measure 20-39 would raise proper ty taxes by 3 cents for every $1,000 of assessed property value. Carmichael said the two initiatives are vital to preserve the effectiveness of the county’s justice system because without adequate funding, juveniles won’t learn they can be held respon sible for their actions. “Last year we had about 5,000 crimes, but we had only 36 beds,” he said. “There's no way to hold kids responsible.” In addition to not learning a lesson, offenders also know their stay in the detention center could be short, he said. “They all know that we’re full, and if someone comes in they know someone has to be going out,” he said If the two measures pass, Carmichael said the Department of Youth Services can staff another holding area at the justice center to in crease its population by 32. He said the increase will allow the county to handle about 2,000 juveniles a year. “We’ll be able to hold them for four to five days,” Carmichael said, “That’s enough for most kids to get the message there are consequences.” Clements also said that it’s hard to make inmates feel punished when they know they have a chance to get out of prison early. Under fed eral regulations passed in 1986, all jails have to keep their populations at certain levels by releasing in mates through a matrix system that figures which criminals pose the least threat to society. Clements said this entails a constant “juggling act” with inmates to ensure the wrong ones are not released. The number of prisoners released has steadily decreased since it reached its peak in 1997, when Clements said that for “every 100 people booked in, we threw 45 out the door.” Now the release rate is about 29 percent, and Clements said if the two measures pass the release rate could possibly drop to below 20 percent. There are currently 485 total beds at the county jail and 120 at the coun ty work camp, an isolated minimal security facility that is currently only housing 30 inmates because of a lack of funds. Clements said that if the funding is secured, the work camp could be brought to capacity and that would free extra space at the jail so the new intake center could be built. “We have 120 beds at the work camp and the measures will bring another 90 on-line,” he said. “The domino effect is even when we’re building this intake center we’ve got 90 beds.” Clements said the new intake cen ter needs to be built because the cur rent center’s foundation is sinking. The measures will also provide funding for the increased staff neces sary to supervise all the extra prison ers and improve the aging heating and cooling systems in the jail, which Clements said are vital to keep in mates from growing belligerent. “You don’t want to get into a situ ation where you give inmates a rea son to riot,” he said. Kutcher, however, said the rea sons to vote for the measures are completely unsound. The local ac tivist, who has worked on previous political campaigns, said he is or ganizing a committee to oppose the measures on the grounds that they are unnecessary. “The crime rate is going down and instead of decreasing the number of Turn to Jail funding, page 4A Cadavers continued from page 1A hope is that the students will learn to think in anatomic terms.” He said the bodies have been do nated to medical science and come from Oregon Health Sciences Uni versity. They were bought for ap proximately $1,100. Two of the teaching assistants for the course, Reed Ferber and Susan Verscheure, have had the opportunity to dissect many cadavers previously. Ferber is teaching the laboratory section for the sixth year. He said he enjoys teaching students about their own bodies and giving them an ap preciation for the complexity of the human body, and hopes the stu dents will eventually go on to enter health-related fields. “Students walk away with an un derstanding of EMS,” Verscheure said. ’’They can say: ‘I know where the deltoid muscle inserts.’” But before the dissection begins, students have to be mentally ready to see a corpse on the examining table. “I basically tell them they have to deal with it,” Ferber said.Strum said, in the beginning, the person still looks human, but after the dis section has been in progress for some time, the body loses its human appearance.“It’s a lot harder to un derstand the body with everything over top of it, ” Verscheure said. She said it is easier to see the mus cles and organs with the skin off. “The brain doesn’t look like much as an organ,” Strum said. “But the way it functions neurologically is enormously complex.” Verscheure said some students have shown no apprehension about dissection and are already asking to look at the cadavers. “They are really excited,” she said. However, not all students are pre pared: Strum said one student passed out the first year Strum taught the class. Ferber said by the second or third time the bodies are uncovered, stu dents understand the etiquette and respect involved in the process. Verscheure admitted she often wonders what the person being dis sected was like during life and how he or she died. “That is the fun part. It’s a mys tery,” Verscheure said. “I prefer to know about the person. ” Verscheure said she once looked at the body of a male who had an artifi cial knee, but the story surrounding the injury was an unsolved puzzle. “It would have been interesting to know something about the person because we now are seeing the end result,” she said. Strum said that the most frequent causes of death in the cadavers they receive are cancer and heart or lung disease. While the person’s medical report is available to the students, often the cause of death is un known. “If a body is donated to science, there is no autopsy,” Strum said. “If the physician caring for the per son was not certain of the cause of death, it may not be known exact ly [how the person died].” Ferber said students really get to know the person to whom their at Dan Brunell Emerald Waweru Gatimu discusses his homework in Human Anatomy with his instructor, Susan Verscheure, on Wednesday. tention is devoted. “They almost end up being part of the family,” Ferber said. “You really get to know the little intrica cies about them.” Sophomore biology major Kari na Brown, a volunteer in the emer gency room at Sacred Heart Med ical Center and a student in the class, said she is looking forward to dissecting the cadavers. “Being able to explore our own bodies and deal with something that is so applicable, I think will be awesome,” Brown said. “I just think of them as generous people who were willing to donate their bodies to science. They should be treated with respect and not harmed.” 009795 Textbooks 35-50% off fist price Rri,ie youi textbook information to Smilh Family Bookstore • Author • Title • Edition We'll helpyoufind'lS.endolC,0J!leS that will save you mone). Always buying: • texts • paperbacks . Cliffs Notes • current magazines One block from campus (above Rainbow Optics) 768 E. 13th Ave. • (541) 345-1651 Goodwrench Scrvice^^/ MINUTES OR LESS OR your next Lube Service is On Most GM Vehicles SERVICE WHILE YOU WAIT • Lube, oil & filter • Vehicle Inpections • Tires Rotated • Wheel Pack • 39 Point Safety Inspection • Transmission Fluid & Service • Wiper Inspection & Replacement • Differential Service • Radiator Inspection Service • Lighting System Check & Bulb Replacement • Goodwrench Service • Close to Campus • Option to leave your car there when in class • Hit us at Lunch time... we ’re that quick! You’ll get a LIFETIME GUARANTEE** on parts and labor. Plus competitive up-front pricing and courtesy Transportation. No Appointment Needed! We’ll give you more than just an OIL CHANGE Includes up to 5 quarts of GM Goodwrench Motor oil, a new AC Delco Oil Filter, Chassis lube and ten-point maintenance check, all in 29 minutes or less! Restrictions may apply to some vehicles. *19 95 originally $2495! NO COUPON NEEDED! Everyday low price. ROMANIA ^ Goodwrench Quick Lube^^y Chevrolet | The 7%ud means better. *See dealer lor details. On most vehicles. ** See us tor guarantee details 2020 Franklin Blvd., Eugene • 465-3588 • Open Mon-Fri 7:30-5:30
