Expanded role for WEC new hope for prisoners

First McCook felt cheated out of the new state prison we felt we had earned, fair and square.

Then we landed the Work Ethic Camp, only to have enemies in the Legislature, Sen. Jon Synowiecki of Omaha among them, tried to close it down.

But now a proposal is afoot to make McCook's facility an integral part of the Nebraska Department of Corrections rehabilitation effort.

And, Synowiecki, a former probation officer, has agreed to sponsor a bill to make the plan possible, with support from the governor's office and state parole board.

Unveiled Thursday at a meeting of the Camp Community Involvement Committee, the plan would allow a certain type of inmate to choose to take part in the four-month WEC program, in lieu of another year of incarceration in the regular system.

The goal is not just to get prisoners to the point that they no longer break the law, but to be good mothers, fathers and productive members of society, Larry Wayne, DPS deputy director said Thursday.

About 60 percent of the prisoners in the DCS system are from east of Grand Island; the remainder, of course, west. Of that 40 percent, a "hand picked" group would have the chance to take part in the McCook program, but not all would, officials said.

Some, DCS Director Bob Houston said, would prefer to stay in the penitentiary for their full term, enjoying "luxuries" like TV, caffeine and pop not allowed in the tougher WEC program.

But others would take the challenge, gaining the self esteem that comes from learning work skills and self discipline.

A benefit for the State of Nebraska would be the availability of 25 beds for the state's overcrowded prison system, not to mention the early release for inmates who complete the WEC program successfully.

Eventually, Wayne said, the McCook facility could become a hub for all of the support services needed to give prisoners the tools they need to return to society successfully. That includes treatment for the drug problems a high percentage of prisoners take to prison with them.

If the program is passed by the Legislature and goes into effect next year, WEC Administrator Raleigh Haas doesn't foresee conflicts between prison inmate and felony offenders at the camp, but the process will start slowly.

Judging by the acceptance of the WEC offenders and the work they do, there is no reason the facility's expanded role shouldn't be embraced by our community as well.