Inmates from Powder River Correctional Facility, the minimum-security prison in Baker City, have helped install bleachers at the Baker County Fairgrounds, plucked wine grapes at a vineyard near Richland, and supported wildland firefighters among other tasks recently.

Powder River inmates also help train abandoned dogs for adoption, landscape the grounds at the Baker County Library, and they’re planning to sing Christmas carols at assisted living centers and other local venues in December.

Those are among the updates that the Powder River Prison Advisory Committee heard during its quarterly meeting on Thursday, Oct. 17, at the Senior Center in Baker City.

Karen Yeakley, former Baker City mayor, chairs the committee. Other members include:

• Shane Alderson, chairman of the Baker County Board of Commissioners.

• Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash.

• Baker City Police Chief Ty Duby.

• Shari Selander, CEO of New Directions Northwest, which runs the alcohol and drug treatment program inside the prison.

• Dick Haines of New Hope for Eastern Oregon Animals, who coordinates Powder Pals, the program that enlists inmates to train dogs for adoption.

• Joe Hayes, Baker County manager for Community Connection.

• Ryan Downing, Baker County Parole and Probation Department.

Powder River, at 3600 13th St. in northwest Baker City, opened in November 1989.

Tom McLay, who has worked at the prison since 2017 and as superintendent since October 2019, told the advisory committee that the current population is 258 “adults in custody” — as the Oregon Department of Corrections deems inmates.

Powder River housed more than 300 people at times over the past few years, but the corrections department no longer needs “emergency beds,” McLay said.

Powder River’s official capacity now is 286, and McLay said the number, which fluctuates weekly as some inmates are released while others arrive, could reach that number.

Yeakley said the prison employs about 100 people — 80 Department of Corrections employees and about 20 from New Directions Northwest in the treatment program.

Inmates who complete the program can qualify for early release.

Inmates are either sent to Powder River because their sentence is relatively short, or because they’re nearing the end of a longer incarceration. Most inmates spend two years or less at Powder River.

Most are from west of the Cascades, and when they finish their sentences they are released in their home communities, not in Baker City.

McLay said inmates can be assigned to fires overseen by the Oregon Department of Forestry, which mainly handles fires on state or private land.

However, McLay said inmate crews can also work on fires on public land in some cases.

Tyler Clark, Powder River’s security manager, told the advisory committee that Powder River crews were sent to three fires this year, including the Durkee Fire. The crew helped clear debris from around the Snake River Correctional Institution near Ontario, which was threatened by the fire, Clark said.

The forestry department pays the corrections department for the crews, Clark said. They’re also paid for work on private projects.

The prison does not charge the library for the inmates’ work there, Clark said.

Powder River has one crew of nine who are enrlled in the drug and alcohol treatment program who work on Friday when available, for no cost, for nonprofits, said Valeria Pimentel, work program coordinator at the prison.

During fire season, Powder River has a 10-person crew to help with fires, and a separate 10-member crew that costs $800 for eight hours and $960 for 10 hours, Pimentel said. Those costs include travel of up to 50 miles. Distances beyond 50 miles round trip include a charge of 62.5 cents per mile.

Michelle Kaseberg, who will be sworn in as a county commissioner in January, told the committee that a Powder River crew did an excellent job installing aluminum bleachers at the fairgrounds rodeo arena in June.

Other programs

Debi Geddes, Powder River’s correctional rehabilitation manager, told the committee that inmates are excited about participating in a holiday choir again this December.

Geddes said an employee from Worksource Oregon visits the prison weekly to talk to inmates who will be released soon about potential job opportunities.

Rick Hite, the prison’s food services manager, told the committee that inmates raised about 3,000 pounds of vegetables and other food from its garden, all of which was used in meals inside the facility.

Kelly Ramsay, Powder River’s medical services manager, told the committee that the prison has added one registered nurse to its staff, bringing the total to two, and that a dental hygienist is coming to the prison weekly.

Powder River offers flu and COVID-19 vaccines to all inmates, Ramsay said.

Haines, who runs the Powder Pals program, said five dogs are in training inside the prison, with four others behind cared for in kennels nearby.

Haines told the committee that one of the five dogs rescued from the mountains near Tipton in late April is “really starting to blossom” under the inmates’ tutelage.

McLay told the committee that the prison is soliciting bids to repaint the building’s exterior.

He said after the meeting that a contractor will also be replacing a section of the exterior siding, about two feet from the ground up. McLay said the roof eaves don’t extend far enough to prevent water that drips from the roof from splashing onto the boards.

The committee’s next meeting will be in January 2025. The meetings are open to the public.