Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page 3

Tucson, Monday, January 19, 1987 gijr Arizona Bailn Shf Section A Page Three METROSTATE "TT? Inmates learn "survival" at the centers, Korff says Plan to close release centers called 'mistake' it Teen charged in woman's traffic death Driver reportedly ran light, hit car in high-speed chase By Steffannie Fedunak The Arizona Daily Star An eastside woman was killed and a 16-year-old arrested in connection with her death after a high-speed chase and accident early yesterday, Tucson police said. Debra K. Aten, 24, of the 8400 block of East Stella Road was pro-. nounced dead at the site of the accident at North Country Club Road and East Glenn Street after her car was hit by a teen-ager fleeing from police, Detective Marty Fuentes said. Mark Thomas Bable, also known as Mark Thomas Hatfield, of Taylor was charged with second-degree murder, fleeing from a marked police vehicle and possession of a sto- len vehicle.

He apparently was living with relatives in the 200 block of West Blacklidge Drive. May be tried as adult He was listed in stable condition at the University Medical Center yesterday. Fuentes said the Pima County Attorney, after reviewing the case, may request that Bable be tried as an adult in the woman's death. The accident ended a high-speed chase at one point clocked at more than 90 mph that involved a helicopter and two police cars. The 5 '2 -mile chase went across the near northside and midtown.

Fuentes gave this account of the chase: At 1:30 a.m. Bable, driving a 1978 Ford LTD, attempted to get another vehicle to race. The driver and passengers of the other car, security agents of Golden West Security, refused, but continued to follow him. The men told police that Bable began driving "recklessly." He failed to stop at the intersection of Fort Lowell Road and North Mountain Avenue and crashed into property of the Briarwood Apartment complex, 1300 E. Fort Lowell Road.

As he headed back onto Fort Lowell Road, Bable hit another vehicle. The agents then called police from a mobile phone as Bable continued east on Fort Lowell, ignoring several traffic signals and stop signs. Ran red light Police caught up with Bable at North Dodge Boulevard and Glenn Street, and followed him east on Glenn. At Glenn and Country Club Road, Bable ran a red light and collided with Aten's car, which was northbound. "That (Aten's) car the passenger door was pushed all the way across to the driver's door (side)," Fuentes said.

"There was no way she could have survived, even with seat belts." I Fuentes said Bable was "apparently intoxicated," and that officials were awaiting the results of blood-alcohol level tests. He said Bable also had several outstanding warrants on various earlier charges in Tucson and Navajo County. Photos by David Sanders, The Arizona Daily Star for the Corrections Department, said a final decision has not been made. Senator "not thrilled" But two Corrections Department employees confirmed they were officially told last week the decision was definite. "It came out in a meeting as a fact, not an option," said David Laughlin, a correctional program officer at the Tucson center.

State Sen. John Mawhinney, R-Tucson, said he was "not thrilled" with the plan to close the centers. "We will look at it," he said. The 140-bed Southern Arizona Correctional Release Center, at 1275 W. 22nd opened in November 1982 to help inmates make a smooth and crime-free transition into society.

Inmates with few resources, no plans and little time remaining on their sentences are selected for the center. They can be released from the center by parole or mandatory release. Thomas W. Korff, administrator of the center since 1984, said inmates are offered "survival" courses. They learn how to fill out job applications, apply for a driver's license and credit and order meals at restaurants activities that most people take for granted, but are quickly forgotten in prison.

Inmates counseled Inmates are counseled in drug abuse and alcoholism, and are periodically tested for drugs. Laughlin, who has worked at all three release centers, said inmates have daily contact with program officers. When the centers close, "parole officers will be bombarded." A typical parole officer in Tucson supervises about 60 parolees. Laughlin said he supervises between 15 and 25 inmates. By Pam Izakowitz The Arizona Daily Star Several years ago, correctional release centers were considered one way to help inmates make the final transition from prison life to the outside world.

Today, they are considered a burden. Threatened by cuts in next year's state Department of Corrections budget, the Southern Arizona Correctional Release Center in Tucson and the Northern Arizona Correctional Release Center in Phoenix are scheduled to close June 30. Highland House, an adult treatment center in Phoenix and the only Arizona prison facility accredited by the American Correctional Association, will close Feb. 15. "It doesn't make sense" The loss of 224 state prison beds, however, will have more implications for Tucson and Phoenix than for the Corrections Department.

"It's a mistake," said state Sen. Jaime Gutierrez, D-Tucson. "Those guys will be on the streets with little supervision. It doesn't make any sense." About 45 percent of all state prisoners pass through the centers, according to Corrections Department statistics. Without the centers, inmates would be released directly from prison into the community with $50 in cash, $35 worth of clothing and a handshake.

Donna Swaim, a University of Arizona senior lecturer who has taught at the Tucson center, said closing the facility is "criminal." "They (inmates) need someone to reinforce positive behavior. They can't be dumped on the streets with $50. If they don't have that transition, God help us." Jo Stephens, a spokeswoman Dormitory room in the Southern Arizona Correctional Release Center in Tucson "When I got out the first time in 1980, there were no release centers. There was a Phoenix halfway house, but all they did was service to South Tucson and the Salvation Army, he said. William Powe, South Tucson's deputy director of public works, said inmates have worked in weed control, sanitation and the auto shop for the past two years.

A chain link fence surrounds the two-story brick building that the state rents from Pima County for $200,000 each year. Korff said the fence is not intended to keep inmates in, but to keep transients out. The center is on 10 acres west of the Santa Cruz River. When the center closes, its 49 employees will have jobs with the Corrections Department, Korff said. Inmates work with counselors to find outside jobs and look for places to live when they are released.

Those with outside jobs are paid an average of $3.97 per hour. Hourly wages within the prison system are between 10 cents and 50 cents. Thirty percent of an inmate's wages goes toward room and board. Inmates are required to start a savings plan. Community service It cost $2 million to run the center last year, Korff said.

A total of 868 inmates passed through the facility, staying an average of 47 days, he said. The inmates contributed more than 28,000 hours of community paper work." Akers, 27, who has a job and family waiting for him when he makes parole, said it's wrong to close the center. "Inmates with no help on the outside will find that $50 does not go very far," he said. "Desperation sends the ex-con into a panic. With no job and no place to live, the ex-con would be more likely to commit a more serious offense." Swaim of the UA agreed.

"In the time I was teaching there, I saw people come out of prison frightened, sullen and negative. Three months later, they walked out of the center human beings." Inmate gives opinion Loren Akers, an inmate at the center, knows what it's like to walk out of prison without an education and job skills. He did, and within three years landed back in prison on his second burglary offense. V. r- i Activist cites increase in need for children's aid By Pam Parrish The Arizona Daily Star Taking care of children's problems now makes economic sense for the future, a local activist says.

Because of changing demographics, fewer workers will be supporting an increased number of elderly, said Georgia Vancza, executive director of Arizona Advocates for Children. Rather than three people working for each dependent, she said, the ratio of workers to those receiving government aid will be almost even as today's children mature. "Every child has to become an effective member of the work force." Vancza said at last night's annual meeting of the Mental Health Association of Greater Tucson at the Plaza Hotel and Conference Center. "We can't afford to write any off. "The numbers alone will convince the most conservative leader that we need to do something," she said.

The Tucson-based Arizona Advocates for Children, the oldest children's advocacy group in the country, monitors trends and lobbies on issues concerning children. Though recent cuts in the state budget affecting programs such as child-abuse prevention and foster care are "rather gloomy news," Vancza said she's encouraged by changes in public awareness. Student activism is alive and well, she said just dispersed among several causes rather than one or two as in the '60s and volunteerism has been increasing also. The best news, she said, is a recent Harris poll that showed a majority of Americans support increased government spending on children's programs and would be willing to pay more taxes for it "That's one of the most important documents I've seen in 10 years," Vancza said. "Perceptions make all the difference." Rural families get donated blankets By Lourdes Medrano The Arizona Daily Star Ten-year-old Detrick Harry and his brother and sister could sleep a little warmer last night in their modest Rillito home, thanks to some blankets, pillows and a sleeping bag they received from Tucsonans.

Detrick's family was one of the recipients of about 20 of the items donated to Project PPEP yesterday, said John Arnold, program director. Project PPEP administers the federal Low Income Energy Assistance Program in rural areas. "We want to thank you for what you're doing," De-trick's stepgrandmother, Laura Harry, told Arnold and another Project PPEP volunteer after she and the children bad accepted the items yesterday. i Harry said she and her husband, Lewis, who works off and on at a crop-dusting company, live on his salary and food stamps. They are not able to afford new blankets for their three grandchildren, she said.

Detrick, his sister, Lorraine, 12, and his brother, Ernest King. 14, have lived with their grandparents for several weeks, Harry said. Their mother could not take care of them because she has cancer, Harry said. Said Rillito resident and PPEP volunteer Gertha Brown: "Poor people dont really have access to guidance counseling so they deal with their tragedies the best they can. Leaving the children was the best way she (the children's mother) could deal with her tragedy." He added: "Clothes sometimes are too big or too smalL Blankets are something you can use over and over again, year in and year out It doesnl matter what size or age you are.

"They especially come in handy In emergency situations like this," he said. By the time Arnold left the agricultural community along Interstate-10 northwest of Tucson, he had a list of 17 families still in need of blankets. I i IV II 1 Kit A.E. Araix. The Arfiona Daty Star Detrick Harry, left, Laura Harry and Ernest King find new warmth in their Rillito home With a few of them remaining in his van, Arnold headed to nearby Yoem Pueblo, a Yaqui village in Marana.

He dropped the rest of the items at the village's community building, where people gather to hold special events and to share some time together. Mollie Rivera, a resident there and program volunteer, said the blankets would be given to families with the most need. "Probably to the people who dont have heat in heir homes," she said. Rivera said about 11 of the village's approximately 20 homes lack a heating system. "They sure can use these," she said, glancing at the blankets on top of a table.

Arnold said 30 families from the village and surrounding areas needed blankets. "I'm really hoping we get more blankets because the demand is certainly there," he said. "Tucsonans can do a lot to help alleviate these problems." He said his office at 802 E. 46th St. would be collecting blankets from 1 to 3 p.m.

today, and during regular working hours the rest of the week..