June 16th

Ok, today lets talk about the fun stuff we get to deal with at the zoo....er I mean prison.

The DSU inmates in my unit get to go to the rec room for excersize 5 days a week. We just open the doors to their cells and they walk to the rec on their own. Well, on Wednesday, as an inmate was released from his cell on the top tier to go to the rec, he walked downstairs and threw a shitbomb into two cells downstairs. A shitbomb is when they fill a cup or other container with feces, stir in a little urine to get it good and soupy, and heave it on you. Generally they save this particular pastime for staff, but this guy said the orderly had been messing with him, so he bombed him and the guys next to him. That brought everything to a standstill as staff figured out what was going on, and had to deal with getting it cleaned up. Oh, and no, staff doesn't actually do the cleanup when something like this happens. We have a team of inmates that get special decontamination training, and they do the dirty work. All in all, I was pretty amused to see them throwing shit on each other for a change, instead of one of us.

Now you are asking yourself if I have ever been shitbombed aren't you. (C'mon, I know you care like that) Well, the answer is no, I have been able to avoid that so far, at least not by an inmate. A number of years ago I did a six month bid on Com gate. This is a post that is along the walkway from the main housing units to the dining room. We have keys for, and control the movement going upstairs to our infirmary, the back area of culinary and the gate going to the big yard. So this is pretty much an outside post. Part of the time you are under a covering that leads to the dining room, but most of it is under the blue sky. Well, I made it to the last day of this post and was letting inmates out on the yard. As I stood with my little counter, diligently clicking away and watching inmates enter the yard, one of the many birds that fly around let go and dropped a big 'ol bomb of his own right on my shoulder. Six months I did this post, and I get hit on the last damn day. It's a good thing it isn't an armed post, or i would have been doing some bird hunting.

In other news, a very good friend of mine that is an officer at a minimum institution near me was called into the office by his acting institution security manager.
He was given a velcro Sergeant position starting next week.
We call it a "Velcro" when someone is given an out of class position.
He will be an acting Sergeant, but it is a temporary gig until he interviews for and is given a full status position.
He has an interview here for a regular Sergeant position next week.
Having those Sergeant stripes on his collar when he interviews should be an advantage for him.

I wish you the best of luck Sarge!

June 15th

Today's post is a bit somber. I posted a couple weeks back that we suffered the loss of a Sargeant. There was a memorial service held for him yesterday. This is one of those times the administration did something completly right. They pretty much shut down the institution, and tried to get coverage for as many people as possible to attend. They even used a transport bus to drive people from work to the place the memorial was held.

I had said before what a profound impact this man had on a lot of peoples lives, mine included. There was a folder on our computer system at work for people to leave their memories and goodbyes. I started reading through them last night and must admit I didn't do a very good job of holding back the tears. Yes, we may get a bit twisted and cynical working in the environment we do, but we are still feeling human beings.
With a lump in my throat again, I would like to share with you some of the many posts that were left as a tribute to a man that will be missed by so many people.

I remember the first day of our training together as new officers back in 1991.  When it was your turn to stand up and speak about yourself you said you were retired Air Force.  As a fellow Air Force veteran this peaked my curiosity about you and a friendship developed.  I always admired your sense of humor, quick wit and your ever present smile.  I always enjoyed when we were assigned to work together, your calmness and professionalism rubbed off on staff and inmates alike.  I was deeply saddened when I heard the news of your passing.  Your memory will live on forever in my heart.
-Correction Officer

 It brought me great disbelief and sorrow to hear about your passing. It brings me great sadness to lose one of our finest and it fills my heart with sorrow. Thanks for your help and guidance, you made me feel at ease when I needed help and direction. I could always count on you to set the pace for my day. You will be greatly missed I will always hear the words you would say to me, "YOU'LL GET IT,  IT WILL WORK OUT." Mahalo (Thank you). Fly with angels my friend Farewell. My heart goes out to the family of "Papa"
-Correction Officer

I'm deeply sadden of your passing. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.
It hurts me to know you won't be around to talk about our bike adventures "Even though you didn't have a Harley".
Your calming composer during tense situations, your big smile and laugh to take you away from your environment, if even for just a moment. You'll never be Forgotten.
Keep the wind in your face and the rubber down my brother.
-Correction Corporal

I was saddened by the news of your loss.  If a man is measured by friendships, then "Papa" was a rich man.  He will truly be missed at OSP.  A friend, mentor, and a wonderful person.  Thanks for sharing him with the rest of us.
-Correction Lieutenant

"Papa", you will forever be in my thoughts and my heart.  I can't help but think of the negative environment we work in and the long term effects it can have on a person.  How many of us spend so much time living in the past, stressing about the future and missing the precious moments of today.  I have never seen that from you, I can not recall a single time I have ever heard you lay your troubles on someone else, but instead, would make time to help us with ours.  You are a true inspiration, a true hearted friend and one of a kind.  It always amazed me how just your presence alone, would change the tone of the atmosphere and had a calming effect on those around you. 
It has been a blessing knowing you and one could only dream of being remembered some day, as you are.  Our prayers go out to your family
-Correction Officer

What a wonderful and special man to so many staff members here at OSP.  I met "Papa" my first day at OSP in the "smoke break room".  The one thing that I will always remember during our breaks is when [name withheld] would come in and those two would start telling the funniest stories. The one thing that really sticks out in my memory of him is how he spoke about his loving Wife, Children, Grandchildren  and his soon to be daughter-in-law. 
When I think of him, tears come to my eyes, because he was such a super person.  I just can't get his smile out of my mind.  He brightened up this place with his smile and always being so friendly to everyone and we can't forget his laugh. 
My thoughts and prayers go out to the whole family - all the memories you hold in your heart of this great man will keep him alive in spirit.
He will truly be missed by all that knew and worked with him.
-Institution Support Specialist

I was truly shocked and deeply saddened when I received the news of "Papa's" passing.  I will always remember his smile which was warm and at times left me wondering what he was up to.  He was a good man who told it like it was and was always willing to help out another as well as sharing his experience with all.  A better wordsmith than I once said, "We are richer for having known him and poorer for his passing."  My family's hearts and thoughts are with the family.
-Correction Lieutenant

Unfortunately, I did not have the honor to work many hours directly with "Papa".  But I did have the pleasure of watching him from my position of a supervisor at OSP.  What I observed was a man who brought a sense of calmness and maturity to the day to day chaos at the Penitentiary.  He recognized that corrections is a "people business" and he had a talent that I very much  appreciated.  He was a friend to many, and a leader to many more.  It was a pleasure to have worked with him, and I appreciate the knowledge and skills he was able to pass on to others while he was with us.   He will be greatly missed.
-Superintendent

Working in this environment isn't always easy, There's one thing that you can count on,  that is when you walk into work and across the floor you would be greeted with a smile and sometimes a joke.
You will always be remembered with a smile.
-Correction Officer

Everyone we meet adds to the fullness of our experience on this earth. I'm very thankful that I can count "Papa" among the friends who've enriched my journey.
When I think of him my mind's eye sees his warm smile and hears his hearty laugh.
It's a rare man that is so universally liked and respected.
Fare You Well, Friend.
You'll live on in the hearts of the people you blessed in life.
-Correction Officer

You helped me when I was new. You helped me when I wasn't. You were not selfish and you believed in the team. I looked forward to the days we worked together. I even like working with your son, who is a reflection of you. I liked the stories of the casino trips. I'm sure everyone did. So, Thanks for everything. Your memory will always live in me and OSP.
-Correction Corporal

There were even more, but I think this is getting long enough.
I just wanted to share some of the thoughts from just a few of the people that felt the same as I.

June 12th

Yes, I know I have been bad about updating.

This last week I only worked one of my assigned days.

I went to the hospital for a test to be done on Thursday. I was expecting an hour or hour and a half and then going home to bed. OOhhh nooooo, I went in at 07:30 am and didn't get released until 01:00 pm. Having no time to sleep, I didn't make it in that night. Then I went in Friday night and within two hours had a headache the likes of which I have never known. You see, this test they did Thursday was to put a dye directly into my spinal fluid so they could get a clear picture of a bulging disc in my lower back. Well, it seems that dye made its way to my head and caused the headache from hell. It was so bad the little red LED lights that indicate an open door on my control panel seared right to the back of my skull. I became shaky and nauseous to the point I actually had my wife come pick me up, as I didn't feel that I should ride the Goldwing home. (I'm telling you folks, it is a BAD day when I don't want to ride the bike!!)
So, home to bed in a dark room with a cool towel over my eyes for the rest of the night.

Then Saturday they called me to work an extra shift. It was only an eight hour shift, so I told them I would come in. I STILL had that stupid headache that evening, but it was a little more manageable by then. (Thanks to my friend Vicadin) Got a call to go in again Sunday night for a twelve hour shift. That headache was still my constant companion, but had moved to the back of my head and was just a slight dull ache by then. It has finally gone away now.

They called me to work again Monday, but by then I was pretty much burned out and decided I needed a day off. This is my long week and I have to go in tonight.

Work has been pretty quiet, we now have two sections of my unit filled with the DSU inmates. It has gotten a bit loud in the evenings, but they are still pretty good about bringing the noise level down when the lights go out at 10:00 pm.

The Special Housing Captain sent out an email last week, encouraging us to hold the line and make these guys from DSU follow the rules. He wants us to set the tone right from the start of this new transition. I just hope the administration has the balls to back us up and let us do that. One of the most frustrating things we have dealt with is doing our job, writing people up for rule infractions, and then some prick from hearings dismissing or lowering the charges. If they want us to hold them accountable for their actions and to do our jobs as intended, they have to stand behind us so we are taken seriously when we have interaction with the inmates. That hasn't been happening as it should for a while. I hope to hell this change will make a difference and we as line staff start getting the support we need.

Time will tell....

June 1st

Well, we finally got everything moved AGAIN.
Yup, you might recall we just moved in March, well, the property owners needed their property back due to some family health issues, so we had to move again.
We are at our new house now and just got the internet back up.
I REALLY hate moving. What a pain in the ass.

Things at work have been pretty quiet. They moved all the inmates out of section I of my unit yesterday. They are planning on moving more DSU inmates in on Monday. Things might get a little interesting when they do.

We had some very sad news this week. A very beloved Sergeant had a heart attack and died while he was vacationing in Arizona on Wednesday morning. His son is also a Sergeant at the same prison. He was always such a great guy to work around. He always had a smile on his face. He was the kind of guy that you wanted to be around when you were feeling down, or upset because he had a knack for always making you feel better and putting things in perspective. He had a profound impact on a lot of staff and will be sorely missed.

Rest in peace "Papa"

May 20th

Pretty quiet week at work this week.
The other night the inmates in section two of the unit kept making a bunch of noise, and yelling to inmates in section three, which they aren't supposed to do. The inmates in my unit have small radios that they get to listen to. I have a switch box that can cut power to them, so I did. They ALL started yelling and banging doors and generally acting like inmates. The floor staff went in and told them if they want them back on they had to settle down and be quiet for 15 minutes. They all talked a bunch of smack, but guess what?! Ten minutes later it was nice and quiet again. I love those radios. They are such a great tool. Oh yeah, the inmates were quiet the rest of the night.

Nothing else going on. It has been pretty mellow for a while. We just enjoy it while we can knowing that eventually someone is gonna nut up again and things get hectic for a while.

May 13th - Mothers Day

Just wanted to jump in to wish my Mom and my wonderful Wife a HAPPY MOTHERS DAY. For all the things you have done, and continue to do I thank you for being there for me.

To all you other moms out there, I hope today is special for you and those that you have made a tremendous impact on their lives offer you a great big hug.

May 11th

Back to the same old grind this week.
Wednesday night, nothing out of the ordinary.
There was a change made while I was gone to training last week though.
They moved 24 inmates from DSU into section 3 of my unit. Eventually the unit I currently work in, and the one below mine that now houses death row, will all be used for DSU inmates. DSU is the Disciplinary Segregation Unit. The other 2 units in the building will remain IMU.
The old DSU building will become SHU (Special Housing Unit) and will be used for death row and administrative segregation, also known as protective custody.

When I got on shift last night I was informed an inmate in the DSU section had spit on the unit corporal when he was picking up the dinner meal trays. This inmate was in one of the bottom tier cells that is a 2 man cell. An inmate was moved out of a top tier cell, which are single cells, so this inmate could be placed up top. Shortly after 0700 pm the inmates in that section started yelling man down. This is what inmates call out if someone is having a medical problem or something. The inmate that had spit on the Corporal was attempting to hang himself.
Now this is where you tell the difference between a veteran staff and someone fairly new. I grabbed my radio, but just held it for a minute as the floor officer came to the front of that section to see what was going on. He saw what was happening and immediately grabbed his radio and called for all staff to respond to a suicide attempt. He was the one who called it, so guess who does the paperwork! THAT is a learned skill folks. Just to clarify, the inmate was really only making a half-assed attempt of hanging himself to get attention and get moved to the psych unit, so there was no real immediate threat that he was going to actually hurt himself.
All staff in the building were in the unit in about 60 seconds, and within two more minutes the inmate backed up for restraints and was taken down to the medical room. The nurse came to the building to talk to him, and he WAS moved to the psych unit for further evaluation this morning.

Then just as everyone is winding down from this bit of excitement, at about 0735 the B unit corporal calls man down in his unit. An inmate with a bad ticker (he has a pacemakerunit in him) dropped while in the shower. So all staff once again come running up and they get this guy out of the unit to the corridor between B and D unit. I stood up and was watching from down the hall. I saw the inmates legs jerk, and staff leaned over him. I thought, Oh shit, they are doing CPR. This is not good. Well, it turns out they were not doing CPR, but the guys pacemaker was zapping him trying to keep his heart working. His legs jerked every time it hit him. Those things must really pack a wallop. They ended up calling an ambulance and running him to the hospital. I heard before I left this morning that he was doing ok.

Then at about 0930 an inmate in the old DSU building threw salad dressing and other food stuff on an officer. So they brought that inmate down to us and put him in the cell that the guy had been in that went to the psych unit. I must have had to change our count on the little tabs we keep track of how many inmates we have 6 times last night. I decided from now on I am going to just wait until 10:00 when we turn the lights out to update it. Things finally quieted down after that, and the rest of the night was uneventful.

Thats life in the big house for you.

May 7th

Well, I let this go to long without an update. I had intended to update each evening as I was in training last week, but having to work dayshift pretty much kicked my ass last week. All I wanted was to collapse on the couch until it was time to go to bed. Then I got to lay in bed wishing for sleep to come. There is a reason I still bid night shift, I DON'T DO MORNINGS!!

Training last week, despite having to get up at a ridiculous time of the morning, was not bad. We had the usual refresher talks about things like ethics and team effectiveness, treatment of the mentally ill in prison, communicable diseases and inmate access to health care, a lecture on the acceptable use of technology at work (aka, don't play on the computers or use it for personal stuff), emergency preparedness and PREA - the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

Then there was a four hour class that was titled "Customer Service". I was planning on coming home that night and UNLOADING on this particular class. Things were running through my head like, "Inmates are NOT my customers" and "Gee, the definition of customer is one who buys goods or services. The only staff that I know that have sold any goods or services to inmates are either in jail themselves, or looking for a new job." It turns out that the class was actually supposed to be more along the lines of boosting morale, and they were saying our fellow staff are our customers. It still doesn't really work with the definition, but after sitting through the class, it was easy to see where they were going with it. In a nutshell, they were trying to encourage everyone to keep up their spirits, and try to have a positive attitude while at work. Not always such an easy thing to do in the type of environment we work in, but it is possible to still have a decent time and not let things get to you.

Then the week ended with a day of shooting to qualify for armed posts, and a day of defensive tactics. All in all not a bad week. Getting up at 6:00 am is incredibly painful for me, but it was a nice break from the same old grind at work.

April 27th

Thought I should jump in for an update.
Not much to tell though really. It has been pretty quiet this last week. The weather has been pretty decent. It has been nice to be able to ride the Goldwing to work all week.
Tonight is my last night for a week, I go to inservice training next week. We do 40 hours of training every year, and next week it's my turn. The only real drag is having to get up and be in at 07:30 am. Not an easy task for someone who has spent so much time working nights. I don't do mornings very well. Oh well, it makes for a nice change of pace for a week. That and I get a week of not having to deal with inmates.

April 22nd

The guy that they had to take to the hospital last night did in fact use a shoelace around his neck with pencils to tighten it. The staff found him unconcious, but they did get him in time and he came back to the institution at about 9:00 am this morning and is expected to fully recover. He had apparently cut himself on his face and arms as well, but they were mostly superficial cuts.

We have two new inmates on death row as of Friday. About four years ago an inmate was stabbed and beaten to death in the activities section of the Penitentiary. These two had been awaiting trial for it, and finished and were apparently sentenced last Friday. They both got the death sentence. The sad part is, in Oregon, they are more likely to die of old age than being executed.

Well, I am off to do another overtime shift. The boss just called and is getting desperate, he has four posts to cover.