Orogrande Community Protection Project gets underway

The Orogrande Community Protection Project got a jump start in July when Idaho Department of Corrections' (IDOC) Red Shirt crew joined forces with forest personnel.

The Red Shirts, comprised of ten crew members from the Idaho Corrections Institute in Orofino, put training they had acquired to use cutting, brushing, and piling around the community of Orogrande. Corrections Officer Spencer, said of the group, “They are ready to go to work.”

The IDOC crew members earn $1.25 an hour. Wages earned in projects like the Orogrande project can be used to send money home, pay for child support, and purchase items in the commissary like pop, candy, and Ramen noodles.

Skills learned and utilized help inmates reintegrate back into the community and find jobs. When crew members were asked if they had spent time in the forest and done similar work, a range of experience, from one who had grown up in that line of work to another who was originally from Sacramento and had never done any kind of related work or spent time on forest lands, was shared.

Nez Perce-Clearwater Forest Supervisor, Cheryl Probert, signed the Final Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Orogrande Community Protection Project on January 29, 2016. 

In a Feb. 8 news release, a community member shared, "The Orogrande Protection Project is an example, of what can be accomplished when the local community and USFS work together in a harmonious way…” 

The project is designed to reduce forest fuels near private lands and roads near the Orogrande Community, other private lands, and along Forest Road 233, the Crooked River Road.

The project is also designed to reduce the risk of high intensity wildfires and to improve forest health, vigor and resilience within forest stands.

These actions are consistent with the Idaho County Community Wildlife Protection Plan (CWPP). The project area is located in the Crooked River watershed southwest of Elk City.

Shown here is some clean-up work done during the Orogrande Community Protection Project. The goal of the project was to reduce the risk of wildfires and improve forest health.

Pictured here are members of ICI-O Red Shirts work crew who helped at the Orogrande Community Protection Project.

IDOC director moving on following long career in state government

After 18 years as an administrator for the State of Idaho, Brent Reinke is stepping down as director of the Idaho Department of Correction. Reinke submitted his letter of resignation today to the Idaho Board of Correction.

“It’s been an incredible run, but it’s time for me to serve in a different way,” Reinke wrote in the letter.

For 10 years, Reinke served as director of the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections. In 2007, he was appointed director of the Idaho Department of Correction, which incarcerates and supervises adult, felony offenders in Idaho. Reinke is the longest-serving director in IDOC’s history.

The chairman of the Board of Correction, Robin Sandy, says Reinke is a dedicated public servant and the entire board has great respect and appreciation for his commitment to improving the lives of the people of Idaho.

“For the past 18 years straight, Brent has logged long hours and he deserves a break from the great responsibility that falls on the shoulders of a correctional director,” said Robin Sandy, chairman of the Board of Correction. “While he has chosen to take a new path, he has much more to contribute, and we’re looking forward to seeing what he does next.”

Kevin Kempf will serve as acting director starting tomorrow. Kempf is a veteran correctional professional who rose through the ranks as a correctional officer, probation and parole officer and prison warden. Kempf currently serves as IDOC’s deputy director.

Suspected case of Hepatitis A prompts cancellation of some visiting at Pocatello prison

The Idaho Department of Correction has suspended visiting for 90 inmates assigned to Unit 2 at Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center (PWCC) after an inmate who was incarcerated there tested positive for active Hepatitis A.

The inmate arrived at PWCC on Oct. 31. Out of an abundance of caution, IDOC has also suspended all inmate moves into and out of PWCC for at least two weeks while health care providers watch for more possible cases.

While the risk of infection is low, Unit 2 inmates will be receiving Hepatitis A vaccine and immune globulin as a precaution.

Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus. Hepatitis A can affect anyone.

Hepatitis A virus is usually spread by eating or drinking food items that have been contaminated with hepatitis A from someone who has not properly washed their hands after using the bathroom.

Symptoms usually occur abruptly and may include:

• Fever

• Loss of appetite

• Abdominal discomfort

• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes)

• Tiredness

• Nausea

• Dark urine

Good personal hygiene and proper sanitation can help prevent hepatitis A. Outbreaks of hepatitis A are relatively uncommon in the United States; however, when they occur, public health efforts are required to control the spread of the disease.