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Portland Observer Thursday, October 5, 1978 Page 5
Behind the wall
Larry Baker k3502/
O.S.P. Correspondent
There are those who believe the
events in the following story should
have occurred a long time ago.
I here are those who believe it is
yet too early for this story to be w rit
ten for publication.
And then again, there are those
who believe this story should have
never been written at all.
The Nadra Bagley Story * *
Everybody has a dream in life,
even Nadra Bagley.
"1 want to help a group o f people
someday in my life , people that
society continues to hide behind
stone walls and iron bars.”
F u lfillin g goals and dreams is
many times not an easy task, but
neither did Nadra Bagley expect it to
be. Nadra Bagley wants to be a coun
selor — a counselor at O.S.P. or a
work release center.
“ A good counselor should receive
as much down-to-earth experience as
humanly possible, along w ith as
much education and training as can
be provided, before tinkering with
another human beings life,” stated
Nadra. “ 1 want to know what a
client ol mine has gone through, and
where he is coming from, in order to
communicate.”
On September 1, 1978 Nadra
Bagley became the firs t woman
correctional o ffice r in the state’ s
penal history to accept a position to
work inside the walls o f O.S.P.
Born and raised in H ills b o ro ,
Oregon, Nadra graduated from high
school and found employment as an
assembly worker at G .A.F. In 1972
she enrolled in Portland Community
College, m ajoring in law enforce
ment.
“ Working while going to school
wasn’t easy, but I knew the field o f
work I wanted to pursue, and as a
woman it wouldn’t be easy either,”
said Nadra.
A fte r graduating from PCC in
1974, Nadra started at PSU,
m a joring in A d m in is tra tio n o f
Justice.
“ Nadra has a gift seldom found in
many o f the students who are in
an A d m in is tra tio n o f Justice
program,” said Dr. Gary Perlstein,
associate director. “ A sincere desire
to perform her duties to the best of
her a b ility and a great love fo r
people.”
W hile attending PSU, Nadra
worked as a volunteer practicum
student at Northeast Portland M ult
nomah
C ounty
Parole
and
Probation. After a period o f time she
found employment w ith V illa St.
Rosa, working with youths. In 1976
Nadra was employed as a correc
tional officer at the Women’ s Work
Release Center in Portland.
“ Nadra had a great interest in
the program and worked many hours
on her own time by showing a per
sonal interest in the residents’ needs
NADRA BAGLEY
were met,” stated Elizabeth Sanders,
director. “ In fact the residents even
put together a fund to buy Nadra a
g ift before she le ft, som ething
seldom done for any correctional of
ficer. I hated to lose her.”
In the summer o f 1977, Nadra
Bagley made an unusual decision.
She applied fo r employment as a
co rrectional o ffic e r (guard) at
O.S.P. — a male institution.
“ The reason I made this decision
was I knew that in order to become a
dedicated and responsible counselor
in the field o f Corrections, I would
need to deal with male clients as well
as women,’ ’ said Nadra.
Nadra’s application was accepted
and she became the fourth woman to
be employed as a correctional officer
at the prison that year. Nadra com
pleted her training and was placed in
a guard tower fo r the next twelve
months.
Almost immediately, Nadra and
the female officers were met with a
great deal o f resistance, not only
from the inmates, but also from the
male guards. But N adra’ s super
visors were aware o f her main goals
and gave sound advice whenever she
needed it.
“ Nadra Bagley is a good officer,”
stated Lt. Robert Kennicott, “ and as
long as she can handle the job, she
can have the jo b .”
Nadra even became a member o f
the O.S.P. guard union, which is a
branch o f the America’s Federation
o f State, County and Municiple Em
ployees U n io n , and gained the
respect o f the president, Howard
Leroy Willmschen.
But like any professional jo b ,
there is always advancement.
On September 1, 1978 Nadra and
another woman o ffic e r, B rillante
Murphy, were placed inside the walls
ROSE VILLA CLEANERS
SERVICE b QUALITY MAKE OUR REPUTATION
Julius D . Snowden k380!3
Poetry Editor
WE DO ALTERATIONS
^ i\
to perform duties just as any male
officer would perform. Nadra was
placed supervising the ‘ Mess Hall*
and the ‘ Big Yard!”
But such duties im m ediately
developed many problems, because
part o f hei duties would require search
ing the male prisoners fo r weapons
and contraband. Many o f the in
mates com plained about being
‘shook down’ by a woman, and they
found the possibilities o f women
eventually being placed in the shower
room. This would be part o f the
normal duties and procedures o f any
officer,
“ I would not desire supervising
the inmates show ering,” stated
Nadra, “ but if I were told to do so I
would because it would be part o f my
jo b .”
On September 26, 1978 a group of
inmates filed a temporary injunction
in M a fio n C ounty C irc u it C o u rt
stating that their constitutional rights
were being violated by being frisked
by the women. The inmates also
gained the support o f U.S. Senator
M ark H atfield. Judge Richard D.
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Barber granted the injunction until a
full hearing could be scheduled in the
future.
Nadra Bagley travels over 100
miles per day to and from her job,
but she is a very active person in her
community.
8525 N.E. F R E M O N T /^
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Mon-Frl 9:30 6 » - Set. 9-1
“ Nadra is constantly volunteering
and offering a hand to help anyone
who needs help,” stated Gladys Mc
Coy, formerly the Governor’s Om
budsman. “ The Oregon State
Penitentiary can use another woman
counselor as dynam ic as Sandy
Moore (O.S.P.’ s first woman coun
selor).”
Experience and caring about
people plays a most essential role in a
good professional counselor in any
prison.
Is the price that Nadra Bagley
paying too high?
Has the last chapter o f the Nadra
Bagley story been written? Only time
w ill tell . . . and again, maybe there
are questions that Nadra Bagley
should be allowed to answer.
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DR LARRY
'—-S E M L E R i«
O ptometrists
227-7200
Located in SEMLER Optical Offices
DOWNTOWN
PORTLAND
I .W . 3 r d A Y a m h i l l
A tto r to lr D or lo r i of O p to m e try - POH 11.A\I1
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DR H W C M
0 f t .lt BCADCRSTADT
i m e n alaa la SALEM • EU6ENE A HAZEL DELI
Please enter me as a runner in the
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Address
(d ll: 5 0 1 + 2 2 8 -8 1 9 6 .
Quaker
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ENTRY FORM
c /o Pihas Schm idt &
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520 S.W. Yam hill, S u ite 4 U)
Portland, O regon 97204
NO APPOINTMENT NEEDED
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