Correction News

North Carolina Department of Correction 214 W. Jones St., Raleigh NC 27603 (919) 733-4926

James B. Hunt
Governor
Franklin Freeman
Secretary

Patty McQuillan
Public Information Director

OCTOBER 1996

CONTENTS

Cleaning Up After Hurricane Fran
Thanks
Hurricane Victims Get Prison-Grown Food
Staff Pitches In To Help Clean Up
Moore Named JDM for 2nd District
EEO CORNER--Recognizing Prejudice
R.O. Barbour Retires
News Briefs
RECOGNITION


 Cleaning Up After Hurricane Fran

By Bill Poston

The night of September 5, Hurricane Fran blew through eastern North Carolina killing 17 people, causing billions of dollars in damage and disrupting people's lives.

Hardest hit were the beaches along the southeast coast, Wilmington and Burgaw.

"Our staff has done a great job," said New Hanover Superintendent Larry Snead. "They've left their families and damaged homes detouring around fallen trees and power lines to come into work. Some have worked double and even triple shifts to make sure the prison operated safely."

The roof of the prison's two-story building that houses inmates and has office space for prison staff was seriously damaged. The inmates were moved into the prison's other dormitories. "Some of our staff live at the beach and haven't been able to return home and may not for weeks,"said Pender Superintendent Jack Turlington. "Others are having to drive hours out of their way around downed trees and power lines just to get to work."

Assistant Superintendent Jim Byrum got to enter his house at North Topsail Beach for the first time five days after the hurricane.

"I got my clothes and my photo albums," Byrum said. "My house is on the sound side of the island where damage was less severe. When we drove onto the island, I looked for landmarks to determine where I was and many of the landmarks weren't there."

With all the damage suffered at home, correction staff maintained safe operation of the prisons. Custody staff from neighboring Craven Correctional Institution worked shifts at Pender allowing officers the chance to tend to damage at home.

"We got the worst side of the storm, the northeast quadrant," Turlington said. "At about 12:30, it was flat out blowing."

Blowing debris busted out several windows, but the prison suffered no damage and no one was hurt. "Its amazing the storm caused so little damage to the prison when you look at the light poles," Assistant Superintendent Randy Futrell said. "There's three inches of open space around each pole where the hurricane winds blew it back and forth."

At nearby Columbus Correctional Institution at Brunswick, the storm blew down trees and power lines but did not damage the prison.

"Trees and limbs were all over the road after the hurricane. About every road was blocked. The intersection of highways 131 and 701 looked like a war zone," said Columbus Superintendent Joel Hunt. "At the prison, we had some gutters loosened and tree limbs to pick up off the yard, but no damage."

The hurricane cut a path from Brunswick County up to the Triangle and then north to the Virginia line.

Fran knocked out Franklin Correctional Center's water supply.

"We couldn't let the inmates shower, but we had adequate drinking water and water for cooking," said Franklin Prison Superintendent Marvin Polk. "We did what we could and I think the inmates saw that and understood it."

The prison was able to get two, 550-gallon water tanks and a nearby fire station helped supply emergency water. Other prisons provided Franklin with bread and ice.

Of the prisons that lost electric service during the hurricane, Franklin was the last to have power restored. The prison lost power during the hurricane Thursday night and it was not restored until Monday evening. During the outage, back-up generators met emergency needs.

"Our employees faced difficult conditions," Polk said. "Many had power outages at home and all faced the same shortage of water."

At Johnston Correctional Center, inmate kitchen workers were put to work baking bread and preparing bag lunches.

"We supplied more than 600 meals to shelters set up at Smithfield-Selma and South Johnston high schools," said Johnston Prison Superintendent Loomis Woodard. "We also sent 1,300 rolls to Franklin Correctional Center two days in a row."

"We wouldn't have been able to provide food to the shelters or bread to Franklin had it not been for Correction Warehouse Manager Donnie Matthews," said Woodard. "The prison was to receive kitchen supplies the day after Fran hit. I called Donnie at home and found him moving family members from a house damaged by the hurricane. Shortly afterwards he was at the prison with the supplies we needed despite the difficult driving conditions and hurricane damage."

"At 1:55 Friday morning, an oak tree four feet in diameter fell on the prison grounds," said Orange Correctional Center Assistant Superintendent Clinton Holt. "It fell on a cable. The cable was connected to the unit radio which was jerked across an office, pulling a sergeant's desk to the window." The officer was unhurt, but the radio was out of commission.

At Central Prison in Raleigh, problems were minimal. Emergency generators supplied power when the electricity went out for several hours.

"We had a lot of employees with trees down on their homes and vehicles and yet they came into work," said Central Prison Warden James French. "They put this place above their families. It takes a special person to do that."

"You can tell these folks care about their job," French said. "They pulled together and put the interest of the state first. Now things are getting back to normal and we're working to give employees the chance to take care of their property."

Correctional Officer David Elliott from Dan River Prison Work Farm was among those state employees who volunteered time helping others following Hurricane Fran. On Sept 17, Elliott was cutting trees at Bugg Elementary School in Raleigh. Assistant Superintendent of Wake County Schools said, "There weren't many people raising their hands to help us. Corrections was the first."

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Thanks

Each day I work with you I learn lessons of courage and strength. Our recent ordeals brought devastation and difficulties. Despite personal tragedy and incredible hardships posed by hurricanes and flooding, you've put the safety of the public and the Department of Correction first.

As we work to clean up our neighborhoods and communities, let's put to use what we've learned: one person can make a difference. Keep the spirit of neighborliness and concern alive and find ways to help others.

Bless you,

Franklin Freeman

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Hurricane Victims Get Prison-Grown Food

When Correction Secretary Franklin Freeman got word at the Governor's cabinet meeting that the N.C. Food Bank was about out of food, he took action.

First, Secretary Freeman organized a state government employee collection of individual food items. Then he called Correction Enterprise Director Les Martin who delivered two tractor-trailer loads of food to the Food Bank Warehouse in Raleigh. The Food Bank of North Carolina was distributing food to disaster-stricken counties where food distribution organizations had bare shelves.

"We were in the best position to supply a large amount of food quickly," Freeman said. "It was the right thing to do."

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Staff Pitches In To Help Clean Up

Responding to Gov. Hunt's call for state employees to volunteer their help to clean up hurricane debris, correctional staff from the soon-to-open Dan River Prison Work Farm brought their chain saws and went to work clearing Wake County schoolyards.

Officers gathered at their prison at 5 a.m. and made the trip to Raleigh. The crews split up and went to the schools with the most felled trees. They worked with school employees to cut, stack and pile wood for disposal.

"We wanted to help out," said Lt. B.J. Wallace. "It could just as easily have been us."

Dan River Prison Superintendent Wayne Moore followed up on State Correction Secretary Franklin Freeman's efforts Tuesday to help the Wake County Schools with inmate labor by seeking volunteers among his prison staff.

Moore said. "Employees are enthusiastic about their jobs and wanted to help their neighbors."

More than 30 employees volunteered to work including Assistant Superintendent Wayne Talbert, correctional lieutenants William Williamson, Rudy Foster, B.J. Wallace, correctional sergeants Kimberley Reece, William Lovell, Jennifer Rayl, Wallace Wright and correctional officers David Craddock, Debra Dillard, David Elliott, Kenneth Underwood, Michael Dodson, Jeffrey Petway, Samuel Stump, Roy Collins, John Crowder, Mike Langford, Kenneth Dixon, Anthony Wall, James Shockley, Arnold Hamlett, Mike Dameron, Robert Stayton, Norma Crouch, Gregory Ingram, James Shumaker, Tangela Elliott, Gail Walker, Brenda Powell, William Pass, Wendy Barfield, Kenneth Underwood, and Mike Coleman.

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Moore Named JDM for 2nd District

Raleigh - Correction Secretary Franklin Freeman named Rick Moore Judicial District Manager for the N.C. Division of Adult Probation and Parole's 2nd District in Washington.

As Judicial District Manager, Moore will work with Division Chief Glenn Mills in supervising probation and parole staff in the 2nd judicial district covering five eastern North Carolina counties: Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, Tyrrell and Washington.

"Mr. Moore has developed experience and leadership in his years of service in the Division of Adult Probation and Parole that have prepared him well for this job," said Secretary Freeman.

Moore was promoted from his post as chief probation and parole officer in Beaufort. He had served there since 1988.

Moore joined the department in 1974 as a probation and parole officer. After a year, he left corrections to serve as a juvenile probation officer for eight years. In 1983 he returned to the Department of Correction as probation and parole officer in Craven County.

A native of Raleigh, Moore graduated from Enloe High School. He graduated from Appalachian State University in 1974.

He and his wife Barbara have three children. They attend 1st Methodist Church of Washington. Moore serves on the board of directors for the Washington Evening Rotary Club.

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EEO CORNER--Recognizing Prejudice

It takes no special skill to be prejudice, just a little fear and ignorance. Prejudice consists of unjustified negative feelings and beliefs about others that is usually, but not necessarily, based upon race, or ethnicity. It is characterized by predetermined or preconceived notions, absent of substance and visible means of support.

Speaking of prejudice, Charles Caleb Colton made an interesting comment when he said, "We hate some persons because we do not know them; and we will not know them because we hate them."

"I'm not prejudiced" has been frequently uttered by mouths of many, whom by their mere utterance of such a statement, is nothing more than an admission of guilt. Prejudice is a human characteristic from which no one can claim exemption. All have prejudice potentials and tendencies that will ultimately influence action. The strongest prejudice is that which emerges from one who is inclined to believe one does not have prejudice. Every person is "packing baggage" -notions, feelings and opinions -related to how one has been socialized. There is a saying, "never judge a book by its cover." Before drawing conclusions, read the book, understand the book and then judge the book. "Prejudice is the child of ignorance." Its effects can be devastating when one refuses to take steps to overcome it. One who contends that one does not have a "prejudiced bone" in one's body deceives oneself. Even dogs are conscientiously prejudiced; they bark at a person whom they do not know. When dogs get to know and learn the person, instead of barking, they wag their tails. The first step in overcoming prejudice is getting to know the person.

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R.O. Barbour Retires

Slow talking, dry-witted Robert O. Barbour was honored at an August 30 retirement luncheon after 39 years of service.

Barbour, a Johnston County native, began his career at Polk Youth Institution in 1959. He rose through the ranks from correctional officer to captain at Polk. He also worked for Harnett Correctional Institution where he became superintendent, and the North Central Area Office where he became area administrator. He worked in the Division of Prisons administration as an assistant command manager and in the secretary's office as a safety officer and as assistant to the deputy secretary.

Lynn Phillips, director of the Division of Prisons said in 1971, he and Barbour competed for the same job. Phillips got it. Barbour offered his support immediately. Phillips said Barbour was "always a contributor to the organization, helping out in tough times." Phillips could count on Barbour for an honest view. "He was wise in his counsel, and I learned some valuable lessons from him."

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News Briefs

Parole Commission Sets Up Call Center

Citizens contacting the Parole Commission by phone are finding the experience less trying these days, thanks to a new method of answering and routing incoming calls. The new "call center" features three employees who attempt to answer citizens' questions at the point of contact. The call center agents are trained to answer routine calls that deal with public information. Also, they are able to provide referral phone numbers when it is determined that a caller's question should be directed to another division or department. If all agents are busy, incoming calls are held in the order they are received, a recorded message informs the caller that all representatives are busy and they are asked to hold.

The call center has been operational since the first week in August and is drawing compliments from the public and Commission staff. "We are finding that the public genuinely appreciates being able to talk to someone and have their questions answered without having the call transferred or having to leave a message," said chairman Juanita H. Baker. "The busy signal has been replaced with a pleasant voice."

The purpose of the change is two-fold: first, to improve service to the public, and second, to reduce the number of routine calls being forwarded to parole case analysts. The main telephone number for the Commission remains (919) 733-3414.

Tillery - Officer Herbert Lee and Lead Nurse Gussie Vinson were commended for their quick thinking and response on Sept. 5. The two were summoned when a control room officer began having difficulty breathing. Lee and Vinson determined that food was lodged in the officer's throat and began using the Heimlich maneuver. The food was expelled and the officer is doing fine. "We are extremely proud of Officer Lee and Nurse Vinson," said Caledonia Administrator Randall Lee. "I am pleased to have such professionals on our staff."

Supply - DAPP Hearing Officer Harry Yoder was recently sworn in as a trustee at Brunswick Community College. He was appointed to a four-year term by the

Brunswick County Board of Education. Yoder, who began his higher education at Lenoir Community College, said he is looking forward to serving the community college system.

Raleigh - Gary A. Jones, a captain at Johnston Correctional Center, was recently awarded the Advanced Certificate by N.C. Criminal Justice Education Standards Commission. This is the highest professional certificate awarded law enforcement and criminal justice officers. Only 300 Advanced Certificates are awarded yearly by the commission. To qualify for this certificate, officers must complete a combination of professional training and education and meet minimum experience requirements. The Commission certifies all of the state's law enforcement officers, probation and parole officers, company police and other specialties.

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RECOGNITION

Staff Training Honor Students
Christopher C. Aurand Wake
Mary R. Kieffer Columbus
Sammy E. Decker, Jr. Iredell
JoAnne Guinac Harnett
Lendy A. Suggs Wayne
Jeffrey M. Carter Johnston
Arnold E. Cyrus Craven
John J. Wallring Craven
Amanda S. Benson Craven
Richard B. Hunter Craven
James W. Pridgen Craven
Retirements
Leroy Douglas Odom
Ellis E. Page DAPP
Deaths
David O. Ammons Foothills
Robert H. Nelson Morrison
William F. Monroe DAPP
O'Dell Cooper Scotland

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