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SUNNY Temp: 90 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Sunday, September 28, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend May 24, 2003 Mike Johnson, left, and Jon Houston cut up a Douglas fir log that was blocking a forest road recently. The men are part of a Jackson County project that puts jail inmates at work in the woods. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven They’re making the cut Local inmates find a home in the woods By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune The Stihl chainsaw whines in Jon Houston’s ear as wood chips spray his chaps and yellow reflective vest. For Houston, a former salesman, clearing brush and fallen trees from miles of road in the Rogue River National Forest is hot, dirty, exhausting work. But it beats sitting in jail, he said. Supervised by Jackson County parole and probation officers, Houston and 15 other offenders are serving out their time cleaning up the woods under a new federally funded program. The Community Justice forest camp project rewards offenders who have a strong work ethic, teaches them job skills and gives something back to the community, said project manager Charly Roberts. "I’ve always felt like the best thing we can do is keep ’em busy all day," Roberts said. Advertisement "It’s kind of like an honor system ... start and work our way up to the forest camp," Houston said. "We had to earn it." The crews work from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and spend another four hours and 30 minutes each week learning to turn around their criminal thinking and behavior patterns. Bunking at the Star Gulch ranger station near Ruch, offenders cook for themselves and maintain the building in exchange for the county’s lease. "There’s some really positive things about it," said Dolores Lisman, a Ruch resident. Lisman and several other residents of the Ruch area expressed concern about the presence of convicted criminals with minimal supervision in their neighborhood Many were reassured, however, when community justice officials pledged to provide a list of the crimes associated with each offender. Most workers are serving time for violating probation conditions on drug and DUII convictions, Roberts said. Violent offenders and those convicted of sex crimes are barred from such programs. Once their work is done, offenders are allowed to go home over the weekends, an added incentive not offered through other Community Justice work programs. This weekend will be the first in seven months that Houston, 34, will visit his wife and two children after he was jailed for driving under the influence. Houston’s weekends away from the camp will also allow him to work on his resume and make job contacts, he said. He hopes to land a job fighting wildfires after his release in July. "It’s a good thing for a lot of these guys," said 33-year-old Mike Johnson, who worked as a logger before he was arrested for possessing methamphetamine. "They don’t have a lot of job skills. Firefighting is good money." Once fire season hits, offenders from the forest camp will join up with others from the Community Justice work center near Talent to fight fires under a contract with the Oregon Department of Forestry. Last year, Community Justice crews pitted themselves against the Timbered Rock and Wall Creek fires that consumed 27,000 acres of timber in the county’s northern reaches. Although the county is facing budget cuts, Roberts is hopeful the forest camp can continue. Modeled after a similar project in Multnomah County, the forest camp is paid for with $400,000 in federal grants dispersed through the county, he said. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . Forest program relieves overcrowding at the jail Housing 18 offenders with the forest project in Ruch will help alleviate an overcrowded jail, officials said. Jackson County will lose 85 jail beds when their correctional facility near Talent closes in July. Statewide budget cuts are forcing the county to shut down that jail, which has historically lodged 45 percent of the county’s prisoners, jail officials said. To avoid releasing prisoners, the county is looking to eliminate its court-imposed jail cap of 190 inmates in the main jail in Medford. The jail releases about 100 prisoners every Monday to reach the cap. As many as 250 prisoners could be squeezed into the Medford jail if the cap was lifted, said Lt. Shirley Tolbert of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. Some inmates would likely sleep on mats on the floor, which is already common throughout the weekend when staff are not coordinating releases through the court, she said. Community Justice also plans to fill up the beds at its work center on Highway 99 between Phoenix and Talent, and rely on the forest camp to keep prisoners in custody. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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