A12 News wallowa.com QUESTIONS Continued from Page A10 How well does the Batterers Intervention Program work? When an offender pleads a felony down to a misdemeanor, that offender may escape jail time but often is mandated to attend the batterer intervention program. How much good does that actually do? $ccording to 6tubble¿ eld, the 52-week program can do a lot of good. The program challenges the beliefs and values that have supported the mindset that allowed them to be abusive. To have those beliefs challenged is tough, Stubble- ¿ eld said. “About three months into the course they don’t like the course, they don’t like the teachers, they don’t like the curriculum. But by 52 weeks they get it.” In fact, she says, men who are well into the program will begin challenging the beliefs of men new to the program. “A lot of times these men in the class will take the message from someone who has been in their shoes better than for someone who is a program facilitator,” Stubble¿ eld said. But the best test of the program is the comments of victims who have maintained a relationship with their former abuser. “They are able to state how drastically different (the former offender) is since completing the program,” Stubble¿ eld said. “That’s the true testament. It goes to show it’s not just a combination of two people (bad chemistry); there is more to it — that the abuse was a choice for the abuser and given the tools, they can choose a different way.” Why did Rep. Greg Barreto (R-Cove) vote against the law? Although acknowledging that a crime could be commit- ted with a gun, he cited Section 2 of the law, which prohibits guns and ammunition from being owned “if the person is subject to a court order that was issued or continued after a hearing for which the person had actual notice and during the course of which the person had an opportunity to be heard.” “This means he has not been convicted,” Barreto said. “I think in some of these instanc- es ... they go too far and start taking away a person’s rights before they are convicted of a crime.” k Andrea Butterfield has earned a e e W e th cumulative GPA of 3.84. She has f o t n e done this through a combination Stud of EHS classes and online courses. She has taken two AP English courses as well as higher level science classes including Physics and Advanced Biology. She has also excelled in the Family and Consumer Sciences. Andrea Butterfield Congratulations Andrea on your Academic success at EHS. Enterprise High School The Student of the Week is chosen for academic achievement and community involvement. Students are selected by the administrators of their respective schools. Free Delivery & Take-Away Anywhere in Wallowa County! January 20, 2016 Wallowa County Chieftain DOC moves forward on Deer Ridge expansion By Paris Achen Capital Bureau SALEM — The Depart- ment of Corrections plans to move nearly 800 inmates in late February to a vacant me- dium-security facility at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution in Madras. The move, which will cost 2.5 million, is the ¿ rst in a two-step plan to accommo- date unanticipated growth in the state’s prison population. The inmates will be moved from a smaller minimum-se- curity complex at Deer Ridge that lacks room for more beds. “That plan is in motion,” said DOC Director Colette Peters. The entire plan involves opening 200 more beds. If fully implemented, the expan- sion is estimated to cost a total of $9.5 million. “It gives you an idea of how expensive correction- al facilities are,” said Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin, Courtesy Department of Corrections The Department of Corrections is moving forward with a plan to move 800 inmates to the Deer Ridge Correctional Institution in Madras. co-chairman of the Joint Com- mittee on Ways and Means. DOC’s biennial budget failed to account for the cost because the state projection for the inmate population ballooned between April and October. That means lawmakers might need to approve up to $9.5 million in new expendi- tures at DOC during the legis- lative session that begins Feb. 1. Some lawmakers have suggested they might have to raid a $40 million Justice Reinvestment fund dedicated to paying for a suite of coun- ty-level support services de- signed to keep offenders out of prison. County of¿ cials have said such a withdrawal of funds could deal a deadly blow to the two-year-old Jus- tice Reinvestment program. The male inmate popula- tion was 13,386 as of Wednes- day. The trigger for opening the 200 additional beds is 13,490, Peters said. Inmate populations can vary from day-to-day, the DOC director said. “When I look at these neg- ative numbers I want to get excited and say, this is the trend, and we are moving for- ward, but unfortunately, the variance is ever so slight,” Pe- ters said. The Oregon Criminal Jus- tice Commission has been spearheading an effort to urge and assist counties in curtail- ing the number of offenders that judges send to DOC. Each county in November received a target monthly number for reductions, which in concert would allow DOC to avoid opening the 200 additional beds at Deer Ridge. “By all accounts, (coun- ties) are doing a good job with the intake population,” said House Majority Leader Jen- nifer Williamson, D-Portland, a member of the Oregon Task Force on Public Safety. “What we are seeing is people aren’t leaving as quickly as we assumed that they would.” “I just want to make sure that we reÀ ect on the record that counties are working hard to manage their input into the system,” Williamson told the ways and means committee Friday. “This shouldn’t be a reÀ ection on them or their programming under Justice Reinvestment.” Programming differs from county-to-county but can in- clude probation of¿ cers, coun- seling, mentoring, housing, substance abuse treatment, better criminal case manage- ment and other services. Williamson has committed to defending the Justice Rein- vestment fund from a raid, but she faces a host of competing interests during the 35-day session in February and early March, according to lawmak- ers. Sen. Alan Bates, D-Ash- land, is pessimistic that DOC can avoid the expansion at Deer Ridge in the spring. Bates said he has visited all but two prisons in the state. “These prisons are jammed,” Bates said. “These people are squeezed in every corner. Sooner or later, we are going to have to make some changes. Deer Ridge is the most logical place to expand now.” “I think when you come back in February, you are go- ing to have to tell us you are going to have to open up more beds,” Bates told Peters. joseph hardware Lowest Prices on Quality Brand-Name Appliances Around! We have a great selection on-hand. Special orders at no additional cost & FREE DELIVERY to your home in Wallowa County. 101 South Main St. Joseph, Oregon 541-432-2271 johard.com