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Photo by Steve Johnson Jail crew members Robert Carswell Jr., left, and Ken Fusselman help clear the way for horses and riders along Bear Creek near Central Point. Inmates clear horse trail Jail crews learn skills, work off time left to serve By JULIE SWENSEN Work on a long-anticipated equestrian trail is picking up speed in the Rogue Valley, thanks to the labor of jail inmates. In just two work days, five inmates on a work crew supervised by the Jackson County Community Corrections Department have cleared about seven miles of trail, whacking away star thistle and blackberry bushes in a swath 8 feet wide. Part of the results of their work can be seen winding alongside Bear Creek from Blackwell Road south to Biddle Road. The project not only gives horse lovers more room to ride, but gives inmates a sense of pride and a slightly shortened sentence. "It's good for inmates, and it's good for the people on the outside," said crew member Myron Lambert, 41, of Grants Pass. Lambert has about a week left on his 90-day sentence for driving under the influence of intoxicants. In exchange for his work, Lambert earns a dollar a day and gets a day off his sentence for every three days on the work crew. Asked what he would be doing in jail if he weren't working, he said, "Nothing. Probably reading." The inmates' work is shaping a trail that was first dreamed of more than three decades ago. Joan West, president of the Bear Creek Greenway Equestrian Trail, said plans were first made for the trail in 1966. But little was done on the project until the last several years, when Wally West, Joan's husband who owns a grading business, built the seven-mile trail near Central Point. The inmates have been clearing out that section, which was nearly unusable because of weeds. Howard DeYoung, who owns a rock crushing business, built three miles of trail in Talent, said Harry Howard, a volunteer with the Bear Creek Equestrian Association. The group also cleared a 60-by-300-foot area for horse trailer parking just south of the Blackwell exit off Interstate 5. Things really started moving when Howard got in touch with a jail crew supervisor. The crew, which started on the trail last week, works eight hours every Tuesday on the project. Other than resting for lunch and a couple of breaks, they work nonstop. "We were really amazed at how hard they work and what a great attitude they have," Howard said. He guessed the trail would span 40 miles when completed. They'd like to see it go from the Pacific Crest Trail near Pilot Rock (south of Ashland) north to Rogue River. And the trail isn't just for horse riders. Anyone can use it, except for people driving motorized vehicles. Howard has offered it to Phoenix and Crater high schools to use for track and cross country practices. Bob Grindstaff, chief probation officer for the county, said money for the program comes from the county and the state and from fees the offenders pay. For some projects, customers are charged an hourly rate for the inmates' work. But the horse trail work is being done at no charge. The county has offenders who aren't in jail working on community service crews, too. "One of the issues is a lot of the people who commit crimes don't have work skills," Grindstaff said. They don't know how to get up in the morning, or how to hold a job, he said, and "this actually gives them an opportunity to do that." Kathryn Rambo, who supervises the jail work crew, said the workers often are homeless or unemployed. On the crew, they can learn skills in things such as landscaping, trail clearing, and painting, she said. Other than working on the horse trail, the jail crew has done projects such as painting or tearing down buildings. People say "Man, they really work," Rambo said. It has shown the public that inmates are not just "lowlifes," she said. Clearing brush at the horse trailer parking lot, Craig Schottie, 36, said he likes this kind of work and being outdoors. His jail term for possession of methamphetamine ends today. "The more I work, the more I stay out of trouble," he said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA