Published: January 11, 2003

By Alice Perry Linker

Observer Staff Writer

Some employees at River Bend, the youth detention camp at Hilgard, received layoff notices Friday in the wake of state plans to close four other detention centers.

An Oregon Youth Authority spokeswoman said Friday that 20 "pink slips'' were distributed to the 35 Hilgard employees. The local employees may be displaced if employees with greater numbers of years in service decide to move from the closing camps to Hilgard. The closures will come if Measure 28 fails at the polls Jan. 28, and the layoffs will begin Feb. 21.

Youth authority centers at Burns, Prineville, Albany and Warrenton are expected to close, and employees with seniority at those camps have the right to move to Hilgard, bumping employees with fewer years employment. Employees may also elect to accept lower paying jobs with the youth authority, the spokeswoman said.

River Bend will remain open.

Many of the River Bend employees were hired about two years ago after the youth authority decided to add a building at the Hilgard center.

Originally, plans were to develop an innovative type of youth camp, one that detainees could select as an alternative.

In late 2000, the youth authority learned it did not have the money to operate the opportunity camp and nearly half the expected jobs did not materialize.

"This will be a huge impact to the communities," Karen Brazeau, youth authority director, said recently about the camp closures. "We have about 100 positions in Eastern Oregon total."

Brazeau said the monthly payroll at Prineville is about $146,000 and at Burns $141,000. The Hilgard payroll is about $95,000 monthly.

Although River Bend never reached its full potential as a youth opportunity camp, the new building became a part of the Hilgard camp, and the number of boys increased. About 17 additional people were hired.

Brazeau said that the detention centers are not the only proposed reductions to the youth authority. At least some of the reductions will be avoided if Measure 28 passes.

Without approval of the ballot measure, "we'd also be making similar cuts in our field services, such as parole supervision and most of the direct services to youth that are contracted to private providers," she said.

In Eastern Oregon, about 100 jobs will be lost, she said.