UPSTANDING CITIZENS

The stellar reputation of SLO County's three correctional institutions is
helping dispel prison industry myths

SLO COUNTY -- When Bob Hushing-Kline stands outside his office at the
California Men's Colony, he's literally sandwiched between the Morros he
loves and the job he adores.

The budget analyst happily talks about the joys of hiking with a gaggle of
Cub Scouts in the mountains between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay. He's far
less likely to bring up the Award of Merit he received last year from the
Del Norte District of the Boy Scouts.

In many ways this shy number cruncher represents all that's good about the
Men's Colony and its cousins, Atascadero State Hospital and El Paso de
Robles Youth Correctional Facility.

Together the three institutions -- with 3,700 jobs, $147 million in payroll
and millions more spent locally on supplies and services -- represent a
powerhouse of economic stability with very little down side, according to
local officials and law enforcement leaders.

Their standing in the community is certain to come under scrutiny beginning
Oct. 19 when the first of a series of public meetings is held in Paso Robles
to discuss the possibility of allowing a private prison in town.

For some, however, enough is enough. Only 26 of California's 58 counties
have prisons, and San Luis Obispo County -- with an inmate population of
8,200 and growing -- already ranks in the top 10 in inmates per capita.

But aside from the public relations issues and the occasional escape, it
appears many of the traditional concerns are largely unfounded. For
instance:

Prisons attract the families of prisoners, and they cause problems

San Luis Obispo Police Chief Jim Gardiner and Atascadero Lt. Bill Watton
haven't found that CMC or Atascadero State Hospital intrude on the safety of
their communities. Nor have their towns become magnets for the families of
inmates or patients.

"We deal on occasion with some of the family that has come to visit -- but
not to any big degree," Watton said.

Gardiner held the same view.

"... There is not negative impact from families living here," Gardiner said.

"The prison itself has not been a public safety impact in any way, shape or
form that I'm aware of."

The idea that families move to be near prisoners may not be well founded.

"Even at the Men's Colony, for long sentences, that's uncommon," said Dan
Hoy, supervisor for the San Luis Obispo County unit of the state parole
office.

"There's no hard evidence that people pack up to be near their loved ones.
Their lives go on, " said Dale Sechrest, a professor in the criminal justice
department at CSU San Bernardino. "Most of these people are poor -- they
can't afford to go roaming around."

Prison workers are under stress and take it out on their families

The concern that job stress causes problems for institutional workers and
their families may also be mostly talk.

Although the county doesn't compile statistics on the occupations, education
or incomes of clients, Beth Schneider, director of Social Services for the
county, said there's nothing to show a problem in San Luis Obispo County.
She said studies have shown some domestic problems in the military.

As for correctional officers, "that might just be anecdotal kinds of
information," she said.

Prisons make it hard to attract new businesses and for businesses to attract
new employees

Paso Robles City Manager Jim App said it's hard to weigh the effects of the
boys school on the community's business. Prospective business people
sometimes express concern about its presence when touring the industrial
park near the California Youth Authority facility.

"That has not to my knowledge deterred anyone in the years since I've been
here, but we're not always told all the reasons (someone doesn't come)," he
said.

The state hospital hasn't hurt business recruitment in Atascadero, said City
Manager Wade McKinney.

"I think it's more of a plus -- it provides good jobs, good wage-earner jobs
for the kind of people who support Little League and Boy Scouts."

John Dunn, San Luis Obispo city administrator, said while some problems are
associated with prisons and state mental hospitals, there are also positive
economic effects.

"Money raised throughout the state ... is then poured into San Luis Obispo
County for the treatment and care of prisoners," he said. That translates
into a large staff with good salaries.

Prisons scare away tourists

Tourists are not tuned into CMC, Atascadero State Hospital or the boys
school any more than they are to Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant,
according to Jonni Biaggini, executive director of the San Luis Obispo
County Visitors and Conference Bureau. The institutions and the plant don't
make it into tourism promotional efforts for a good reason, she said.
"They're not major tourism attractions."

Only once in 12 years has she received a request for information about the
facilities, Biaggini said. A group from Japan was visiting juvenile
facilities in California and sought information about the boys school.

The facilities haven't put a damper on tourism, which -- depending on the
source -- is the county's No. 1 or No. 2 industry.

"No one really knows they're there," Biaggini said.

The facilities don't affect visits at Hearst Castle, according to Mova Verde
of the public relations office.

"I don't see it as a deterrent unless they were poorly run, which I don't
think they are," she said. "I think they're kind of low profile."

Prisoners escape and pose a serious threat to local families

This is the one concern that is clearly real.

The Paso Robles boys school has had seven escapes and 12 walk-aways since
1992, said spokeswoman Josie Hayes. Most were found within a few days.

The most recent escapes from Atascadero State occurred in 1993. Both men are
still at large. An attempted escape from CMC that same year was foiled when
the prisoner was shot to death while scaling a fence.

In many cases the prisoner quickly and quietly flees the area. But not
always.

A teen-ager who escaped from the boys school in 1992 took an elderly Paso
Robles couple hostage in their home before driving their car to Los Angeles,
where he was captured after shooting one of three hostages there.

Hostages were also taken following a 1979 escape from CMC. Inmate John House
raped a Cal Poly student before taking a San Luis Obispo family of three
hostage. He released the family after forcing them to drive him to Tulare,
where he was arrested.

CMC has also had 18 "walk-aways" in the past 10 years. These are prisoners
who escaped while on a work detail, such as roadside garbage cleanup.

Those responsible for the safety of the county's residents say such
incidents are rare and the three institutions have not created a serious
threat.

"The facilities are not a major impact on the local community, although as
with any facility, there are occasions that you will have escapes," interim
Sheriff Nick Marquart said. "The correctional officers at CMC, the youth
authority and Atascadero State Hospital are all very diligent in seeking the
return of any escapee."

Paso Robles police assist the boys school occasionally, said Lt. Lisa
Soloman Rowe. "It's a fairly secure facility. They do a good job," she said.

"Overall, having them in the city has not been unsafe or a safety concern."

The risk of having the three institutions in the county is more than
outweighed by the economic benefits and the valuable contribution made by
employees and even the prisoners, the experts say.

"I don't believe there's any stigma associated with San Luis Obispo County
and correctional facilities," said economist Mark Schniepp, director of the
UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project.

Prisons are considered "basic" industries, said Schniepp.

"More basic industries are really good for any regional economy because they
bring in new money," he said.

In the case of these three institutions, it's lots -- and lots -- of money.

When Hushing-Kline, the budget analyst at CMC, packs home his pay stub every
month, he is just one of more than 1,500 CMC employees dropping more than $4
million into local bank accounts.

The three institutions have a combined annual budget of $244 million, and
the lion's share, $148 million, goes for salaries.

The boys school has the smallest payroll with $28.5 million. Atascadero
State Hospital's present payroll of $63.2 million is expected to grow by
more than $12 million when a 258-bed expansion is completed. CMC spends
about $56.5 million a year.

Together they employed 3,682 people at the end of August, more than Cal Poly
and Cuesta College combined.

When Atascadero State's expansion is finished in a few years, the expected
410 new employees will push jobs at the three facilities past the combined
total of all the county's public school districts, including the County
Office of Education.

In addition, a sizable portion of the facilities' operating budgets are
spent in the county.

Atascadero State Hospital spends about $1.6 million a year just for local
laboratory work, according to Leslie Malcom, spokeswoman for the hospital.

Even though CMC has state contracts for food and other items, 10 percent to
15 percent of its $23 million operating budget is spent locally, said Terry
Knight, spokesperson for CMC.

The story is the same for the boys school. An estimated 30 percent of the
school's $3.5 million operating budget stays in the community.

Dave Garth, president of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, views CMC
as an important segment of the city's diverse economy.

"The key to any community is balance between the public and private
sectors," he said. Still, the chamber opposes any expansion of CMC to keep
the city's trademark as a university rather than prison town, he said.

The three facilities provide a broad range of jobs -- only 53 percent of
CMC's more than 1,560 employees are part of the custody staff. Other
occupations range from physicians and educators to accountants and chefs.

Whatever their designation, many employees of those facilities are involved
in their communities.

Many of them -- particularly at Atascadero State Hospital -- participate in
the United California State Employee Campaign. United Way of San Luis Obispo
County operates that donation program for state employees.

CMC, Atascadero State Hospital and the boys school "are very significant
players in the community," said Janna Nichols, the county United Way
executive director.

Contributions for the current year included $51,000 from nearly 700 state
hospital employees; $27,000 from about 325 CMC employees and $22,500 from
about 360 boys school employees.

"Our approach is not how much people give, but that the people are involved
and doing something in their community," Nichols said.

As with other industries, the contributions to the community aren't just
financial. Employees coach youth sports or volunteer in the classroom.

Alice Fiscus is a community volunteer. Fiscus works in CMC's payroll office
and is a member of the Sheriff's Auxiliary Volunteer Patrol. She and a
partner spend Saturday nights keeping watch in the unincorporated North
Coast communities of Cambria, Cayucos and Los Osos.

Fiscus said CMC officials encourage employees to be active. She signed up
for the volunteer patrol four years ago after attending the sheriff's
Citizen's Academy. In addition to being an extra set of eyes, volunteers are
trained to assist at accidents and help with searches. Fiscus said she and
her partner helped nab a suspected bank robber.

She also works with some of the inmate groups that raise money for local
charities, either through straight donations or special food sales.

"They work really hard," she said. "It's amazing what they do."

Just this summer, PACA -- Prisoners Against Child Abuse -- donated more than
$10,000 to the San Luis Obispo Child Development Center and Abused Children
Treatment Services, said CMC spokeswoman Knight. Knight said the group has
donated more than $50,000 since 1991.

The San Luis Obispo Literacy Council is both a recipient of donations from
inmates and recruiter of inmate volunteers who teach reading skills to other
inmates.

Knight and others pointed out the community service provided not only by
employees of the facilities but by residents.

Youth at the boys school work on firefighting crews and help with park
restoration.

"Public service is forgotten," said Sarah Ludeman, a spokeswoman for the
California Youth Authority. "Throughout the year, our wards down there are
involved in a lot of public service at cost savings to the community."

Sherri Berwick, the executive director of the San Luis Obispo Child Abuse
Prevention Council, can attest to that. For the past several years, wards
from the boys school's pre-parole camp have helped set up a carousel used to
raise money for the council.

"They actually go out almost every weekend doing things for the community,"
she said.

Beginning next month, the value and costs of prisons to a community will
weigh heavily on the minds of many, particularly the residents of Paso
Robles.

But on a bright, fall day at CMC, with Cerro Romaldo standing guard to the
south, the benefits of this prison and this job seem clear to Bob
Hushing-Kline, who worked for a number of private companies before landing
his current position 412 years ago. "I am so thankful I work here."

Jamie Hurly covers San Luis Obispo County for the Telegram-Tribune. Story
ideas and news tips can be e-mailed to her at jhurly@telegram-tribune.com.

Checked-by: Don Beck