Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 10

Monday, November 18, 1992 Clinton A10- Star-Tribune, Caspar, Wyo. Term Limits Continued from A I Mitchell said on NBC-TVi "Meet the Press." "I think it's an artificial deadline established for no purpose other than giving definition to sense of urgency about action." Mitchell said. "And so I don't use any particular time frame for when we should or should not act." his No. I objective, including ev Eandcd investment tax credits oped to spaik job creation. Other parts ol it Clinton can do alone by executive order, such as speeding up federal dulliiii Ui highway projects that would create jobs.

Clinton met at the governor's mansion Sunday with economic adviser Robert Reich. for an afternoon session with Clinton. "Whether it's in the first 100 days is not important. We're going to start on day one." Mitchell said he would tell Clinton he's "right on track" by making economic revival his top priority. Clinton plans to make a short-term economic stimulus package Clinton's communications director.

George Stephanopoulos, said the 100-day timetable "is a little artificial but it helps to organize your thinking." "we know we have to come out quickly and get to work on the problems facing the American Eeople," Stephanopoulos said as entered the governor's mansion senators and ceilings ranging from six to 12 years for the lloube. Those same 14 stutei are repre-tented by 16 senators ho already have served at least two terms, And in this election, they sent Sens. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark John Glenn. D-Ohio. and Bob Pack-wood.

R-Orc. all of hom have served at least 18 years back for another term In the tame 14 states six incumbents were knocked off by challengers in the general election. Another three fell victim to primary challengers. One incumbent senator, Republican John Seymour in California, lost. Kamber says the 14 states that pursued term limits are hurting their potential influence in Congress.

"If I were New York, I'd love it. Florida's dead in the water, California's dead in the water. They are not going to have any clout in this Congress or any Congress in the future." Continued from At the tarn-limits group Americans Buck in Churge, uiu llitil tharac-teriation misses the point. It is designed not to "kick the rascals out but to make government more responsive, she said. "We arc for sound, reasonable, responsive government," Williams said.

"It's not that we're trying to move Incumbents out. lire trying to get rid of a system that favors them. The problem isn't the faces. But the system encourages them to listen to special interests and start thinking about re-election the very next day." Kamber attributed the heavy majorities for term limits to the inability of opponents to mobilize in time to fight them. There was little money available and incumbents who might have led the charge were preoccupied with their own re-election bids, he said.

The initiatives adopted set limits of 12 years, or two terms, for Bessemer Continued from At tions argue that the defendants' statements with regard to McMur-ry ere made in the context of the Bessemer quarry controversy a public issue and as such are protected under the constitution. "The United States and Wyoming Constitutions guarantee individuals the rights of free speech, association and petition for redress," the motion filed on Killcan's behalf reads. "The Wyoming Environmental Quality Act establishes protection of the State's environment as a primary public policy concern, together with a procedure for the exercise of these fundamental rights with respect to this policy. By virtue of the Act and as an expression of Wyoming's public policy, the Bessemer Bend Mining Project became a public issue on which an individual's right of free expression is paramount," Killean's motion continues. Women Continued from Al percent of the women incarcerated at the prison could be placed in residential or non-residential community corrections programs.

Lauen based his assessment on the number of women inmates with no previous convictions, the consultant said in a telephone interview. He said the Colorado Corrections Commission made similar findings of women inmates in that state. "I do not believe that Wyoming has more hard core inmates than Colorado that can't be placed in alternative programs," Lauen said. Most of the women need help with drug and alcohol abuse and vocational training to give them marketable skills, he said, and they may not receive this type of help in prison. The new report noted that more than 60 percent of the women inmates hav histories of alcohol or drug use.

Department of Corrections Director Judy Uphoff said the statistics do not tell the entire story, however. Although a woman inmate may not have had a previous felony conviction, she undoubtedly has had prior contact with law enforcement authorities, Uphoff said. "You don't know what the original offense was." Uphoff said. "It's the same ith men. It might have been aggravated assault and battery and pleaded down to simple assault." "The crime they're in there for Education Louise Ryckman, HD 60, Green River; Mac Mc-Graw, HD 41, Cheyenne.

Agriculture Ross Diercks, HD 2. Lusk; Wayne Morrow, HD 19. Evanston. Travel, Recreation and Wildlife Dick Sadler. HD 59, Casper; Bud Nelson, 48, Rock Snrings.

Corporations Kathryn Sessions, HD 43. Cheyenne; Elwin McGrew, HD 18, Rock Springs. Transportation Dick Sadler, HD 59, Casper; Sherry Wooldridge, HD 12, Cheyenne. Labor Ra Sarcletti, HD 1 7, Rock Springs; Jayne Mocklcr, HD 44, Cheyenne. Journal Wende Barker, HD 45, Laramie.

tentiary, for offenders newly released from the WSP, and even for people convicted of misdemeanors from police court or county court if a jail sentence was involved, he said. The local board, he said, reviews every application and rejects offenders with "vicious tendencies." The prospects of the new prison have fluctuated widely in recent years. The 1991 Legislature, faced with predictions of a burgeoning penitentiary population, authorized a prison of unspecified size at Lovell and appropriated $10,000 for planning. The Legislature that year also authorized the state or any local entity to contract for private companies to build and operate the But by May 1991, only two months after the prison bills became law, state corrections officials told the Legislature's Joint Appropriations Committee the state needn't rush into the project because of a lag in the number of new inmates entering the prison system. Before the 1992 budget session, the Wyoming Board of Charities and Reform, comprised of the five elected state officials, voted 3-2 to recommend construction of a $25 million to $30 million medium security prison at Lovell.

Sullivan, Secretary of State Kathy Karpan and Treasurer Stan Smith, voted for the project while Auditor Dave Ferrari and Superintendent of Public Instruction Diana Ohman were opposed. Despite arguments to build immediately to take advantage of low interest rates, the 1992 Legislature postponed the project for at least a year because of budget problems and a levelling off of the prison population. The combined cost of operating the prison and paying off the bonds has been estimated at $8 million a year. should retain the option of occasionally caucusing in private. Members left nearly undisturbed a committee assignment list drawn up by outgoing caucus leaders.

Because the House is expected to reduce committee membership from nine members to six members, almost all Democrats were assigned to only one committee. Committee assignments are: Judiciary Don Sullivan. HD 1 1, Cheyenne; Wende Barker. HD 45, Cheyenne. Appropriations Matilda Hansen, HD 13, Laramie; Eli Bebout, HD 55, Rivcrton.

Revenue Bill Vasey. HD 15. Rawlins; Sam Blackwell, HD 16, Rock Springs. institutions have used different definitions in compiling their reports. Uphoff said a department task force comprised of judges and corrections officials is examining "intermediate sanctions," such as the intensive supervision program called STOP (Surveillance and Treatment of Offenders Program) and community corrections for inmates who need more than probation but less supervision than the penitentiary.

Meanwhile, two district judges differ on the extent alternative programs, such as community corrections, are being used to take pressure off the WSP. Laramie County District Judge Ed Grant said these programs are "broadly used" and that probation officers in the district have heavy caseloads 100, compared to an average of 25 in the federal system. But Grant said there's no point putting an offender on probation who already has violated probation. "We do have a number of alternatives," Grant said, "and they are being used. The notion that we can ever do away with prisons or reduce the need for prisons is wishful thinking." District Judge Harry Leimback of Casper, a former legislator, questioned whether the alternative programs are being used broadly.

Leimback said bills setting up community alternative programs were the most progressive pieces of legislation he has seen in years. The judge, who is on the Casper community corrections board, said community programs have worked out well from his point of view. "I sense that there may be some reluctance on the part of the state corrections to fully utilize them and 1 wonder if it's because they want a new penitentiary," Leimback said. "We have every indication of that down here," Leimback added. "We have a CAC with 20 or 30 people and have 90 beds." The low occupancy has created administrative problems with keeping staff, he said.

The Casper program is used for offenders who would otherwise have been sent to the state peni- Weekly Special All mens and womens Hush Puppies M000 off DOWNTOWN EXTENDED Through November Democrats Continued from Al nority whip, after Don Sullivan, Cheyenne, and Bill Vascy, Rawlins, declined their nominations to the post. Vascy then acceded unopposed to the post of caucus chairman. Following a tie vote between Sullivan and Bill Bensel, Sheridan, for issues whip, Sullivan recast his vote for his opponent. Ray Sarcletti, newly elected representative from House District The motion filed on Ray Stalkup's behalf similarly argues that McMurry's suit was not brought "in good faith." Rather, the motion says, the suit is "an attempt to punish (Stalkup) for exercising his constitutional rights of freely speaking on political and social issues." Among other arguments forwarded in the motions: McMurry has failed to show that the defendants' statements or actions show malice; McMurry's "civil conspiracy to defame" charge is moot because Wyoming law docs not address the action; McMurry's suit was filed one year after the statements he points to in the suit were made, and so fall outside Wyoming's one-year statute of limitations on defamation and conspiracy to defame statutes; McMurry cannot prove he suffered damages as a result of the defendant's statements or actions. and surveillance program called STOP.

"What it comes down to, the bottom line, is the courts set the sentences," Uphoff said, adding that the Legislature sets sentencing policies. District Judge Harry Leimback of Casper said he doesn't believe judges are harder on women offenders than men. Leimback said there is some feeling that the women's prison could make more use of community corrections programs. "We don't see many girls from there," said Leimback, a member of the Casper community corrections board. "And why not? If the program's good for men, why not for women?" Typically, he said, women who get in trouble with the law are those who drink too much and write bad checks.

"It gets to the third offense and there's nothing else you can do," Leimback said. The community programs, however, can handle the alcoholic pretty well through routine screening, he added. District Judge Ed Grant of Cheyenne said virtually all the women sent to Lusk from his district had prior felony convictions, such as numerous counts of forgery and a prior offense that wasn't prosecuted. Both Leimback and Grant said a "hard-core" offender is one who repeatedly violates the law and is undeterred by the criminal justice system and can be someone who commits non-violent crimes. (1 EXPERT VACUUM REPAIR PARTS A SERVICE FREE ESTIMATES DON VAC SHACK 1512 E.

2nd 23) 319 I MHM91-31R9 Jf ft W6 1 7 in Sweetwater County, was the lone absentee at Sunday's meeting. He sent word he had a previous commitment to attend a Shrincrs' Hospital board meeting. Democrats decided on a 10-7 vote to adopt a motion by Sullivan to keen all party caucuses open to the public. During discussion of the motion, Dick Sadler, newly elected as a House member from Casper, and a former state senator, said he would "walk out" of a closed caucus. Several others stated that to attend a closed caucus would be a renunciation of a campaign promise.

Dissenters including Hansen and Bebout argued that for strategic purposes, Democrats Lovell Continued from Al hire an additional staff member to collect and analyze crime and corrections statistics and help identify trends. Lovell City Manager Don Richards said Wednesday the recent figures do not represent a dramatic change in the prospects for the new prison. Although the prison population firojections have changed in the ast few years, the Wyoming State Penitentiary remains overcrowded and there still is a need for some type of a prison, whether it be a medium security facility or another alternative to the state penitentiary, he said. Richards said he still is optimistic that a new prison will be built in Lovell. He noted the size of the proposed prison has bounced from 500 to 250 to 350 to 375.

The state, he said, could probably use more than 200 additional beds right now, depending on what alternate correctional programs are established. "We've been tracking it closely for the last year or two and it was no surprise," Richards said. He said the Department of Corrections' new statistician will develop solid figures on the state's prison needs. A November 1991 report by the Correctional Services Group of Kansas City, Mo. estimated Wyoming would need a total of 1 ,00 1 male inmate prison beds by July 1992, rising to 1,041 by 1995.

But the male prison population statewide as of Oct. 9, 1992 was 908, including inmates at the Wyoming State Penitentiary at Rawlins, the Honor Farm at River-ton and the boot camp at Newcastle. This is 93 male inmates fewer than projected a year ago. The 1991 report said no additional prison bed space is needed for female offenders. Department of Corrections Director Judy Uphoff said the numbers make it difficult to make any recommendations on the type of prison to be built.

"I'm not saying we don't need the prison," Uphoff said. "But we need to know how big and for what kind of inmate." In the past, she said, the state has looked at the correctional institutions individually rather than as a state system and the various tmmmmtm 1 Country Ornaments Santas Come sa? cur entire a ikctvm today. 124 f. 2nd In Thr "Of Dnwntim-n KKK-4 MS Winter Fronts for Mil trttrk 2395,. 265-3902 1817 E.

Yrllowrione There mct uic a man named Cox, vhnt fib urns ti mark each box. After day on ho feet, he in ready toon, ha hrcnuliin't afford fhe money 4 rMS II in Given McMurry's role in the Bessemer controversy, Mc-Murry is a public figure, the motion says. "Mrs. Killean's speech, of which Plaintiff complains, falls well within the parameters of constitutionally protected speech in the context of this very public controversy as a matter of law," the motion says. The motion filed on behalf of Max Stalkup similarly cites Stalkup's privilege to comment on public issues, but also asserts that McMurry's suit was filed for "an improper purpose." McMurry's purpose, the motion says, is "to harass Max Stalkup, and to improperly and unjustifiably dissuade him from expressing his political and social views, to dissuade him from petitioning his elected officials on matters of concern, and to cause him litigation expense in retaliation for his expression of his non-defamatory views and opinions." is not necessarily indicative of what really happened because of the plea bargain," Uphoff added.

The population of the 87-bed Women's Corrections Center stood at 55 at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 1992, which is 32 under capacity and down from 66 inmates on the same date in 1 991 Of 94 inmates handled by the institution in fiscal year 1992, 37 percent were sentenced for parole or probation violations; 1 6 percent for forgery and bad checks and 1 1 percent for murder or manslaughter or attempted murder or manslaughter, the department report said. Other offenses included burglary, property crimes or drug-related offenses, 10 percent; embezzlements and incest, 4 percent each, and felony interference with a police officer, 2 percent. The report said 80 percent of the women have children, and 51 percent are serving sentences from 11-23 months, while 41 percent are serving 24-59 months. Only 2 women, or 2 percent, are serving sentences of 10 years or more, the report said. Uphoff, formerly warden of the Women's Center at Lusk, said some of the inmates could be in community programs if those programs had components that were specially developed to deal with the women offender.

She said women are in all three of the state's community corrections programs, in addition to parole and probation, and are also placed in the intensive supervision ivkrnin POSTERS Bv Schim Schinmel Enrhantrii Earthworks $(MDirtMiiro-2M Lunch Special BBQ Beef Sandwich Try our new menu 266-2421 759 CY Avtnue 2nd Anniversary A Christmas Cards rder 1 odd Kroger, BEFORE Manager JHE RUSH! Hilltop Shopping Center 473-1334 rZa (jaAacda A COKNSHUCK El TAMALES Lunch Mon. Fri. 11 30- 1 30 Dinner Mon. bat. 5 00 9 lb The little yellow house with red shutters 633 Collins 234 7633 Wyoming Stationery ROLLING MINCER i LOOK GREAT FOR THE HOLIDAYS Lose Up To 20 Lbs.

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