Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, December 15, 1999, Page 2, Image 2

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    Page
December 15, 1999
IJorttanò (¡Observer
Police News/Vancouver
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Multnomah County inmates look to serve community
M ultnomah C ounty S h er il t ’ s O t u c e
h ) » T he
P o r t la n d O B s t r n m
Inmates from MultnomahCountyjails
recently revived the appearance o f
W ood Village City Park as part o f an
inmate work crew community service
p ro g ra m . T h e in m a te s, u n d er
supervision by sh e riff s deputies,
cleared five acres ofdense, overgrown
blackberry bushes and thinned an
area o f the park that is popular with
area residents.
Chuck Rollins, City ofW ood Village
public works employee, says he has
heard from several residents who use
the park and say they feel much safer
now that visibility is increased.
“ They did a fantastic jo b ,” said
Rollins. “The inmates were proud o f
their work and were very motivated.”
In October, inmate work crews from
Multnomah County jails performed
1,300 hours o f community service.
W ork Crew Supervisor Sgt. Phil
Aderchuk is looking to double that
number. Non-profit organizations and
local government agencies that have
a need for labor are invited to call Sgt.
Anderchuk with their request.
Anderchuk oversees 14 crews o f eight
inmates each, who do everything from
laundry to landscaping, liter removal
to illegal dumpsite clean up, painting
to carpentry. The inmates perform
both contracted work and community
service. The work performed by the
inmates is usually work that wouldn ’ t
otherw ise get done due to tight
budgets and because no one else
wants to do it.
Recent community service projects
in c lu d e c le a n in g up aro u n d a
cemetery that was heavily vandalized
and cutting firewood for an East
c o u n ty
em e rg e n c y
se rv ic e s
organization. A partnership is being
developed with R&H construction to
renovate the Patton House, which
provides housing to indigent families.
“The inmates on these crews work
very hard and are truly interested in
p roviding com m unity se rv ic e ,”
Anderchuk says. “They see this as a
way to serve the citizens and make
small amends for the crimes they
committed against the community.”
Inmates selected for the work crew
must meet the same criteria as those
w ho q u a lify fo r w ork re le a se
programs. They are expected to be
ready for work each morning, take
directions, work as a team, have pride
in a job w ell done, and accept
responsibility for their actions. For
this they learn valuable job skills, are
paid one dollar a day, and can reduce
their jail sentence.
As with all the programs offered to
Multnomah County inmates, the goal
is to prepare the inmate for integration
• *
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H o m e
Invasion
In m ates fr o m M u ltn o m a h C ounty C lean up d eb ris at W ood
Village C ity P ark
back into the community as a law-
abiding citizen. The work they do:
landscaping, litter removal, and light
m aintenance m akes M ultnom ah
County safer, cleaner, and generally
more livable.
Inmate work crews perform work under
government contract for agencies
such as ODOT, Housing Authority
o f Portland, and Metro. While the
county is paid for this contracted
work, Sgt. Anderchuk wants to see
the work crews performing more
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M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty S h e r iffs D ep u ty J o se M a rtin ez su p e rv ise s inm ates p e rfo rm in g c o m m u n ity
se rv ic e a t W ood V illage C ity P a rk
Santa
from page 1
n m ed iately , V irgil W ilson, 7,
ounced to the front o f the plane with
eadphones on his ears to see Santa
jr himself. When asked why he was
rearing the headphones, he said
latter-of-factly, “I’m listening to
anta. I’m listening to Santa!”
is the plane flew over the North Pole,
light attendants directed the children
o take their seats and prepare tor a
anding at the North Pole. As the
»lane taxied onto the runway o f the
slorth Pole Airport, the children
¡ommented that the airport looked a
ot like the Portland International
Xirport. “And where’s the snow,”
m e said.
Despite the skeptism, all the children
were excited as they got o ff the plane
and prepared to meet Santa at his
house and once again be chaperoned
the the United Airlines volunteers.
Santa’s house looked a lot like Gate E-
5 o f the Portland airport. But the
children didn’t seem to notice as they
each grabbed tall clear bags and
selected toys and goodies from tables
that surrounded Santa. On one table
lay mounds o f hats and mittens that
United Airlines volunteers knitted
for nine months.
After collecting presents, each child
visited Santa and ran through the
airport telling others how great is was
to visit the North Pole. And that s
what United Way officials want -
children to have a great time.
“We hope that this Fantasy Flight
will make this holiday season a little
more special for these children, said
United Airlines City Manager Randy
Loveland. “We plan to make this an
ongoing event— one that the children
and the community can look forward
to - and so can we.”
Advertise in
Sllje ^ n rtla n h
(©beeruer
Crime Stoppers
community service, much ofwhich is
done for free.
The work crews are available to assist
non-profit organizations and cities
within Multnomah County with light
maintenance and landscaping, and
provide emergency services where
there is an immediate need for labor
caused by natural disasters (such as
sandbagging during floods, clearing
roads after windstorms, etc.)
The public is invited to approach a
work crew deputy to find out the type
o f work being performed. V ery soon,
all clothing worn by the inmates on
work crews will identify them as a
S heriffs Office inmate. Road signs
are posted near the work site for public
information.
“It was a real pleasure working with
the deputies and crews,” said Rollins.
This was a win-win situation for Wood
Village and the inmates. I would
recommend them to any organization
needing work done.”
For more information contact Sgt.
Phil Anderchuk at 248-5039. The
inmate work crews are looking for
work. A ndyou’d better hurry, Chuck
Rollins says he has another project
out in W ood Village for the inmates
next Spring.
The Gresham Police
D e p a rtm e n t,
in
c o o p e ra tio n w ith
Crime Stoppers, is
asking for your help
in identifying and
a p p re h e n d in g the
in d iv id u a l
re sp o n sib le fo r a
home invasion.
On
S un d ay ,
November 7,1999, at
about 10:35 in the
evening, the suspect
entered an apartment
in the 3100 block o f
Northeast 23rd Street in Gresham.
Entry into the apartment, which was
occupied by a female, was through an
unlocked patio door. The suspect
was looking into the bathroom when
he was surprised by the victim, who
then fled to a neighbor’s apartment.
The suspect was last seen on the
victim ’s patio.
The suspect is described as a male,
with a dark complexion, possibly a
Pacific Islander, in his mid 20’s 6 ’0”
tall, weighting
220 pounds with
long black curly
hair that could
possibly be a
wig.
Crime Stoppers
is offering a cash
reward o f up to
$ 1,000
for
in fo rm a tio n
re p o rte d
to
Crime Stoppers,
which leads to
an arrest in this
case o r any
u n s o lv e d
felony crim e,
and you need
not give your
name.CallCrime
S to p p e rs
at
(503)823-HELP.
Counterfeit bills surface in Salem
A number of counterfeit bills, mainly
in
o n e -h u n d re d -d o lla r
denominations are surfacing in the
Salem area.
Some of the people who have
presented the bills are victims
themselves.
One man cashed his paycheck at
an Independence store and got
100 dollar bills, one of which was
counterfeit.
The city of Salem has had 22
reports of counterfeit bills since
N ovem ber
firs t.
T he v ic tim s have in c lu d e d
restaurants, convenience stores,
large discount stores and a bus
depot.