WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
NEWS
Art gives inmates incentive to stay out of trouble
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
The decor through most
of Two Rivers Correctional
Institution is bleak.
Long, bare corridors
made of cement floors
flanked by off-white walls
stretch endlessly through the
prison.
In the medical area,
it’s different. Purple-hued
mountains decorate one
wall, while a mixture of
greens, browns and oranges
form a forest on another. In
the day room, the walls are
covered floor to ceiling with
a busy underwater scene.
In a changing area for staff,
the men’s restroom is a riot
of orange and black for the
Oregon State Beavers, while
the women’s bathroom is all
about the University of Ore-
gon Ducks.
Most of it is the hand-
iwork of George Albert
Venecia.
“It’s nice to be able to
look at something besides
the wall and each other,” he
said.
Venecia would know —
he’s been staring at prison
walls for 12 and a half
years since he was con-
victed of charges of sodomy
and sex abuse. He still has
another 12 and a half to go,
which is probably why his
favorite things to paint are
nature scenes. Inside TRCI,
“nature” generally means
the patch of sky inmates can
see when they exercise in
the yard.
Many inmates at the
prison outside Umatilla are
gifted artists. Detailed col-
ored pencil drawings by
inmates line a visitor room,
and right now the institu-
tion is auctioning off wood
and metal pieces created by
inmates to benefit the Agape
House.
Venecia said he didn’t
start painting until he landed
in prison, something TRCI
spokesperson Sherry Iles
said is common.
“So many times I say
‘This is amazing!’ and they
say, ‘Yeah, I didn’t start until
I came in here,’” she said,
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
A piece of metal art created by an inmate sits on display for a silent auction in a staff break room at TRCI. At right is a wooden
candle holder, also up for auction.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Inmate George Albert Venecia demonstrates how he creates texture in one of his drawings
using a pen cap.
pointing to a wall of intri-
cate colored pencil drawings
in an area for visitors. “For
me, if I take photos of what
they’ve done, I give it to
them for their portfolio for
when they get out, for work
opportunities.”
Venecia is one of TRCI’s
residents who wants to make
a career out of art someday.
While his specialty is paint,
others work with wood or
metal or fabric.
In TRCI’s administration
building right now, a col-
lection of artwork is up for
silent auction among staff to
benefit the Agape House’s
food bank. The art is mostly
created by inmates in the
facilities plant, who fabri-
cate everything from metal
lockers to book shelves
and in their spare time are
allowed to use scraps for
artwork.
In the administration
building, a small motorcy-
cle made of plumbing parts
sits on a decorative wooden
dresser. Nearby, scraps of
metal weave themselves
into an American flag pic-
ture frame while delicately
carved walking sticks —
unrecognizable as former
mop handles — sit on the
floor. There are colorful
blankets made by members
of TRCI’s crocheting class.
“It’s really relaxing for
them, and they do some
amazing stuff,” Iles said.
She said in the past
inmates have gotten per-
mission to sell art or publish
novels available outside the
institution. Venecia has got-
ten such permission for his
artwork.
Few of the men inside the
prison are given the priv-
ilege of using paint and a
paintbrush. Venecia said
only those with a long track
record of being a model
inmate are allowed to work
on projects like the murals
he paints, which gives him
incentive to keep on the
right track.
“I was trying to teach
the other inmates how to
paint, but it’s hard for them
to, shall we say, stay out of
trouble, so I kept losing peo-
ple,” he said.
Staff in the infirmary
praise his talent, and said it’s
hard to keep him for their
projects as staff from other
areas of the prison try to bor-
row him for their office or
other spaces. In one office,
Venecia painted a set of lace
curtains on the wall for a
staff member who was sad
she couldn’t have real cur-
tains for safety reasons.
It’s not just TRCI employ-
ees Venecia does projects
for. He works in his cell,
manipulating colored pen-
cils with his fingers, eras-
ers, pen caps and even toilet
paper to create a paint-like
effect. Sometimes he does
projects for other inmates,
or for family members (he
was working on a portrait
for his cousin Monday).
He said he has been work-
ing lately on some T-shirt
designs for a former TRCI
inmate who wrote him and
said they were having trou-
ble finding work on the out-
side and wanted to start their
own company selling shirts.
“I told him, I’ll send you
some stuff. Don’t get into
trouble. Don’t come back,”
Venecia said.
Athena mayor to
run for seat on
county commission
By PHIL WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER
Athena Mayor John Sha-
fer announced he is chal-
lenging incumbent Larry
Givens of Umapine in the
race for Umatilla County
commissioner.
Shafer in a media
announcement said he is
running on the motto, “Rela-
tionships are primary.” He
said commissioners need to
get to all parts of the county
and was critical the county is
underserving residents in the
Milton-Freewater area. The
county has an office there,
he said, but he was not sure
how often people visit it.
He promised to hold office
hours in Milton-Freewater
one day a week.
He also advocated for the
county to create a priority
list for the budget and was
critical of the county’s chief
financial officer having too
much say.
Shafer’s announcement
first appeared in the Val-
ley Herald newspaper, after
which he officially filed for
candidacy.
Givens filed in October
to seek a fourth term. He
agreed relationship build-
ing is key to effective lead-
ership as a county com-
missioner and said he has
built relationships and con-
nections that benefit his
constituents.
Commissioners are based
in the county courthouse in
Pendleton, but Givens used
to hold regular office hours
in Milton-Freewater. He said
he backed off that last year
because he felt there was not
much need for it.
Givens also said the
county’s budget process
“When you are
in charge of the
citizens’ dollars,
you have to
make those go
as far as they
can.”
Larry Givens, Umatilla
County Commissioner
allows department heads
the freedom to prioritize
their needs, then the coun-
ty’s budget committee
makes
recommendations
and the chief financial offi-
cer weighs in. But the com-
missioners make the final
determination.
“When you are in charge
of the citizens’ dollars, you
have to make those go as far
as they can,” Givens said.
Umatilla County has
three commissioners, all
are at-large. Commissioners
serve four-year terms. Each
position has an annual sal-
ary of $90,852 a year plus
benefits.
Shafer is a communica-
tions sergeant with the Uma-
tilla County Sheriff’s Office.
If he were to prevail, he
would have to quit that job.
The county charter prohib-
its a county employee from
serving on the board.
Qualified candidates for
the Umatilla County Board
of Commisisoners have until
March 6 to file.
OREGON MANUFACTURERS.
LOCAL BUSINESSES.
YOUR NEIGHBORS.
ALL GETTING MORE FROM THEIR ENERGY.
Here in Oregon, thousands of businesses and individuals are saving money with
help from Energy Trust of Oregon. With cash incentives for energy improvements,
we can help you get more from your energy.
+
Are you ready to get more from your energy?
Visit www.energytrust.org or call us at 1.866.368.7878.
Serving customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power,
NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista.