Work Ethic Camp

McCOOK, Neb. -- An academic partnership between McCook Community College and the McCook Work Ethic Camp was discussed at Tuesday’s Community Involvement Committee meeting at the correctional facility. WEC Warden Pam Morello discussed a possible partnership and was hopeful that headway could be made on a potential academic setup with MCC...

McCOOK, Neb. -- The McCook Work Ethic Camp may be only a couple of years away from an expansion project which could provide a boon for state corrections, as well as the local economy. Community leaders praised WEC staff in November when Department of Corrections Director Scott Frakes released his strategic plan and included expansion of the McCook facility among projects slated for future consideration. ...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A crowd of more the 50 attended the Prairie Gold Homes inaugural graduation earlier this week and, while it was easy to get lost in the crowd, one person stood out from the rest. Work Ethic Camp Warden Pam Morello provided heartwarming praise to the trio of graduates and gave an inspiring reception to those in attendance. The wisdom of her words seemed to shed light on why so many state and local leaders regularly praise her leadership at the McCook corrections facility...

McCOOK, Neb. -- A group of several McCook community leaders travelled to Lincoln, Nebraska, last week to promote expansion of the McCook Work Ethic Camp, as well as to gather information pertaining to what can be done locally in support of such a project. The trip was coordinated after an Omaha World Herald report indicated the Dept. of Corrections was pushing for a massive expansion in the Lincoln-Omaha area and stated nearly every available alternative has already been deployed...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Memorial Auditorium may receive its first tenant since being made available for commercial and public use in May 2013. The McCook City Council will consider approval of a lease with the Southwest Nebraska Theater Association during their regularly scheduled meeting Monday evening...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Nebraska Department of Correctional Services officials are looking at ways to ease prison overcrowding and visited the Work Ethic Camp in McCook Thursday to discuss expansion opportunities. Because housing both genders in the same facility was problematic, female probationers / inmates are no longer at the Work Ethic Camp in McCook. ...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A carpentry class will be offered this summer to inmates and probationers at the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook. The class joins the roster of other programs at WEC and is part of the philosophy of the facility to teach inmates/probationers life skills they can use after completing the six-month WEC program...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Two men were apprehended near a baseball field late Thursday after walking away from the McCook Work Ethic Camp, earlier that night. According to a press release from the WEC, one of the men, Nathaniel Kreikemeier, 20, was classified as an offender after being convicted in Phelps County on a felony charge of intent to deliver a controlled substance...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- Pam Morello, warden at the Nebraska Department of Correction Services' Work Ethic Camp in McCook, announced an anticipated reduction of road crew members in July in an effort to address possible legislative cuts to the correction facility's budget...

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The new head of the McCook Work Ethic Camp sees ties to the community as crucial to the facility's role. Pam Morello, who was officially named warden of the McCook Work Ethic Camp in September, was named Acting Warden in August, when Warden Barb Lewien accepted a position with the Omaha Correctional Center. She was moved permanently into the position, overseeing the 150-160 population of the Nebraska Department of Corrections center, effective Sept. 8...

Three male offenders who walked away from the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook Dec. 31 were captured two days later in Hastings. The offenders were identified as Cory Erickson, 18, Bryce Elliott, 19, and Robert Jones, 26...

Offenders who have taken off recently from the Work Ethic Camp in McCook have at least one citizen wondering if enough is being done about security. Rex Solomon of rural McCook, who lives about a mile from the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp, said area residents are not being properly notified when offenders walk away from the camp...

Because of new legislation taking effect at the end of August, the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook will be able to receive additional inmates. Currently, the WEC accepts those sentenced to intensive supervised probation, and since 2007, inmates at correctional facilities who meet certain criteria...

Reaping what you sowed never tasted so good, at least for those tending the quarter-acre garden at the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook, Cultivated by offenders and inmates at the WEC, the garden this year has produced a bumper crop, with 1,750 pound of vegetables harvested far and 120 ears of corn. And the vegetables are still coming in...

McCOOK -- If you want to start a business, one of the most important things you need to do is establish a good, open and honest relationship with a banker. That was one of several tips shared with start-up businesses Friday at the July meeting of the Entrepreneur Network. Patsy Houghton, who is both owner and general manager of Heartland Cattle Co., told the gathering at First Central Bank that it is essential to start with a well-structured and well thought-out business plan...

Two bills affecting the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook are on the way to becoming final. Sen. Mark Christensen said the bill that would allow offenders to work at education facilities has an emergency clause so it can go into effect as soon as its passed...

A bill that would allow offenders/inmates at the Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook to work at educational facilities apparently has been lost in the shuffle. LB 429, introduced by State Sen. Mark Christensen, did not make it on the Legislative Consent Calendar as planned, said Christensen Thursday morning at the Legislative conference call at the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce...

Two offenders at the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook who allegedly stole a pickup after absconding from the camp were sentenced to prison Monday in Red Willow County District Court. Peter P. Payton, 30 and Charles Meister, 20, were both sentenced to the WEC from Sidney in Cheyenne County. ...

During the past year, an idea ... a concept ... a dream ... grew steadily to become a reality because of the spirit of cooperation and the positive attitude shared by six entities determined to fuse education and employment for the benefit of students, community and industry in Southwest Nebraska...

Lock 'em up and throw away the key. For some offenders, that certainly is the proper response. But judging from a new study by the Pew Center on the States, the situation has gotten out of hand. In Nebraska, for instance, for every dollar we spend on prisons, we've spent 19 cents on probation and parole...

Population at the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook could increase substantially, under a legislative bill that advanced out of committee last week. Introduced by Sen. Mark Christensen, LB 274 allows the Director of Correctional Services to assign a felony offender to the WEC. Those convicted of a capital offense or sex offenders are not eligible...

The Cambridge girls basketball team limited Sutherland to 5 first half points to advance to the C2-11 sub-district finals against North Platte St. Pat's Thursday at the McCook High School gymnasium. The Trojans ripped the Sailors 49-24.

Mayor Dennis Berry asked input from council member as to what direction they wanted city staff to go concerning the subcommittee of the proposed county/city safety center. The committee's first meeting, open to the public, is scheduled tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the County Commissioner room...

It's been called the season of giving, and offenders from the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook are getting in on the ground floor -- that is, the garage floor of Bill Stewart's shop, where they are refurbishing bikes and tricycles for the Annual Toy Box giveaway, set for Sunday Dec. 18...

**Final in a series Ninety-two percent of all the offenders sentenced to the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook have substance abuse problems. That's 951 of the 1,033 offenders who have come and gone through the doors of the prison-alternative facility that opened in McCook in April 2001...

**Third in a series A new program that combines trust and hard work has started its second round at the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp at McCook, according to Administrative Sergeant Mike Towery, program supervisor. Implemented Oct. ...

**Second in a series. NORTH PLATTE -- The superintendent of the Buffalo Bill Ranch State Park in North Platte says that labor provided by offenders from the Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook was invaluable when the park started the restoration of Buffalo Bill's massive red board-and-batten barn two years ago...

**-- EDITOR'S NOTE -- This is the first in a series of stories on the McCook Work Ethic Camp. The Nebraska Department of Corrections Work Ethic Camp in McCook reached an unofficial milestone recently, admitting its 1,000th offender since the doors to "Don't Look Back" and "Second Chances" opened in April 2001...