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Eastside Revitalization Committee Minutes - 03/30/1995MINUTES Eastside Revitalization Committee Thursday, March 30, 1995 Present: Carolyn Berryman - Wichita Falls Police Department Representative Cathrine Dillard Gene Douglass Brenda A. Jarrett - Committee Chairwoman Richard Luedke - City Planning Representative Charles Peters Herman L. Sanders, Jr. James A. Welbum Joe Williams The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Chairwoman Jarrett at the MLK Center. Mr. Charles Peter gave a presentation on a proposed Pre -Parole Transfer Facility at the corner of Scott Avenue and Old Petrolia Hwy. He stated that the facility would employ between 100 and 150. He is in the process of informing surrounding neighborhoods of this proposal and plans a community meeting within 4-6 months. Mr. Williams reported that he has spoken with property owners along Eastside Dr. Several of the owner expressed a willingness to allow civic groups to adopt these vacant lots. The property owner at 310 Eastside Dr. made a committment to personally make improvements to his lot. Ms. Berryman stated that 3 Eastside residents are working with her to contact residents who were once involved with the neighborhood watch program to see if they would be willing to become active once again. Ms. Berryman also reported that Ms. Stella Navarro from the Westover Hills Neighborhood Watch is asking for support for an ordinance to present to the City Council regarding graffiti. Chairwoman Jarrett reported that 10 vacant lots on Eastside Dr. are owned by businesses. Letters have been written to 6 of these 10 businesses. The Beacon Lighthouse has expressed a willingness to landscape their property if trees could be donated. Chairwoman Jarrett stated that she would continue seeking local grants for beautification. Mr. Grady Bonner, Jr., a master gardener from the Texas Agricultural Extension Service has expressed a willingness to advise the community on landscaping procedures. Four community organizations: the Washington Jackson Math Science Center, Kirby Junior High, Eastside Girls Club, and Eastside YMCA have agreed to adopt vacant lots in Eastside. The Committee agreed to sponsor a community rally in conjunction with the NAACP, Eastside Chamber of Commerce, and Eastside churches. The rally will be held at the Youth Opportunities Center with free food and entertainment. This will be an opportunity to communicate with the people of the community. The rally will be held on Saturday May 6, 1995 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The next committee meeting will be held the last Thursday of April. The meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m. PRE PAROLE TRANSFER FACILITY REQUIREMENTS The Board of Pardons and Paroles (BBP) is soliciting bids for Pre Parole Transfer (PPT) facilities designed to provide housing, supervision and programming to inmates selected by the Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Texas Department of Corrections for Participation. The length of stay will normally be from 60 to 180 days, resulting in a successful release to parole supervision. A PPT facility is a community -based program which provides individualized client services and a restrictive supervised living environment to releasees from state prison for the purpose of accomplishing a successful reintegration to community life. A PPT facility can be a closed facility, OUR FACILITY SHALL BE CLOSED. TARGET POPULATION The target population will be those inmates in the Texas Department of Corrections who are eligible for parole or are within 180 days of parole eligibility. The clients will be released in pre parole transfer status. Inmates for release by the BPP as well as the Texas Department of Corrections. Inmates convicted of the following offenses are ineligible for this program: Capital Murder Aggravated Kidnapping Aggravated Rape Aggravated Sexual Abuse Aggravated Robbery Any conviction in which a weapon was displayed during commission of the offense and there is an affirmative finding in the Sentence and Judgement. Too many attempted'el Inmates have plenty of time to think about ways of escaping from your institution. but in more than 40 North American prisons, they also have to think about Senstar's outdoor perimeter sensors. The result: in prisons where Senstar systems are used, escape attempts — and escapes — have dropped sig- nificantly. Senstar security systems protect hundreds of high - security sites around the world. Contact Senstar to find out about our reliable, effective outdoor perimeter security systems. We'll give you something to think about. Group Against Doctors Aiding In Executions The Illinois State Medical Society in April declared it unethical for doctors to participate in capital punishment, includ- ing pronouncing inmates dead. The American Medical Associa- tion and a Boston -based group called Physicians for Human Rights consider it unethical for doctors to assist in exe- cutions. The Illinois group's policy goes a step further to condemn any The Sentrax buried -cable detection system uses an invisible electromagnetic field to detect escape attempts. Senstar provides completely integrated sensor and alarm - monitoring systems for prisons. Worldwide support services include site planning assistance, installation supervision, on -site mainte- nance, and extensive product warranties. Senstar products include: • ported coaxial cable sensors • alarm display systems • portable perimeter sensors • video intrusion detection systems • secure alarm data networks SENSTARv Making your world secure Senstar. Inc. 5 Billerica Park. 101 Billerica Ave. North Billerica. MA USA 01862 1.800-321.9804 participation in the execution process, "except acting as a source of support and solace to a patient facing death." The society's president, Dr. Robert Reardon, said the new guidelines were adopted after its leaders leamed that in several cases involving lethal injec- tions, physicians assigned to declare inmates dead found that their hearts might still have been beating.'"l"he physician had to say, 'this man isn't dead and, in effect, you've got to do more to kill him,' " he told the Associ- ated Press. "This is diametrically opposed to what our profession is all about." Under the new guidelines, a doctor may still certify that an inmate died from a lethal injection after someone else h&c declared the inmate dead. Job Prospects Goo! For Officers The national demand for connec- tional officers will continue through the 1990s, according to a study by a University of Georgia economist pub- lished in April. Jeffrey M. Humphreys, director of economic forecasting at Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth, said he expects an increase of 29 per- cent a year in the demand for COs, compared with an overall annual U.S. employment growth rate of 1.2 per- cent for all jobs. He also noted that officers usually keep their jobs during economic downturns. Corcoran Housing Uni* Draws P ar lse-from AP The California State Prison in Cor- coran -was singled out in a recent Associated Press article for its secured housing unit's efficiency and ad- vanced technology. The unit houses the state's most dangerous inmates. The article describes how a con-ec- tional officer watching inmates through a plexiglass ceiling also controls all the doors and cells in the section. Since Cor- coran opened in 1989, it states, officials haven't found any drugs inside and the incidence of violence is lower than at other state prisons. Continued on page 16 JULY 1991 CORRECTIONS TODAY Sr in NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAM Neighborhood Watch works because people reporting crimes or incidents of concern to law enforcement do not have to give their names. This reduces fear of retaliation from criminals because persons names do not go out over the police radio and patrol cars do not pull up in front of reporting persons' homes. This allows police and neighborhood watch members to accomplish the goals of neighborhood watch. This is done by following the rules listed below: Neighborhood Watch numbers are given to each household involved in the group. This is a personal number much like your drivers license or Social Security numbers. These numbers will be kept in police dispatch and will be updated by the Crime Prevention Unit. At no time will names of Neighborhood Watch members be transmitted over the police radio. Police dispatchers will take no further identification information once a Neighborhood Watch number is given by a reporting person. Police officers will respond to calls without reporting person information available and will investigate the report as thoroughly as possible. In the event an investigating officer needs to speak to the reporting person, he will telephone the dispatcher for that person's name and telephone number. The investigating officer will not go to the Neighborhood Watch member's home unless specifically requested by that reporting person. All contacts with the Neighborhood Watch members will be by telephone unless an emergency situation develops. By following this policy, police can still do their job and Neighborhood Watch members can safely report incidents without fear of retaliation.