The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 115, No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 21, 2005 Page: 7 of 32
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THE CANADIAN RECORD
NEWS PAGE
THURSDAY 21 APRIL 2005
Commissioners open bid
proposals for Hemphi ll
County Juvenile Facility
A year ago in June the Hemphill County Juvenile Facility closed its doors for good
following allegations of abuse and subsequent problems with the facility's manage-
ment team, Youth Services Inc./Correctional Services Corporation. In October,
County Commissioners terminated its contract with YSI/CSC, and began looking for
replacement companies to lease the County-owned detention facility.
Commissioners voted unanimously to advertise for bid proposals at Monday's
meeting to companies interested in leasing the facility. The request by Chief Proba-
tion Officer Kenneth Martindale and Julia Schafer was prompted by informal discus-
sions with a firm called Cornerstone looking to take over management of the facility.
Martindale told Commissioners that he and Schafer, executive director of the boot
camp, had been in contact with several companies in regard to the juvenile facility,
but "some have not responded to our beck and call."
Cornerstone has expressed interest over the last several weeks in opening the
facility for short-term detention usage, Martindale said. The company is based out
of Englewood, Colorado, and has a facility in Post (Garza County). Cornerstone also
operates facilities in Pennsylvania, Montana and Utah.
Martindale said Cornerstone is only interested in operating a detention facility
with 20-24 beds, with the possibility of growing that into a long-term detention fa-
cility that will house Texas Youth Commission juveniles. The Garza County facil-
ity houses TYC juveniles, so Cornerstone already "has a foot in the front door" with
TYC, he said. Area probation offices in the 31st District have indicated they will sup-
port Cornerstone if transportation is provided. Cornerstone will consider transport-
ing detainees if a lease is agreed to between the entities.
The facility's maximum capacity is 120, which has never been reached. The most
the facility has housed is 100 to 105, Schafer said.
Martindale said he will send out a Request For Proposals to all companies that
have expressed interest at any point in operating the facility.
Commissioners stipulated that whichever company leases the facility, it will be al-
lowed up to 24 months to expand operations to a complete occupancy, which includes
long-term detention, and possible educational services.
Commissioner Ed Culver said he does not want to see the entire facility tied up
with a company only using 20 beds. It is important that companies are interested in
operating the facility and providing the services they do, but "we don't want to get
themso fat and happy," that they are notwilling to expand to full usage.
Previously, the facility was a pre- and post-adjudicated facility, which housed
county probation juveniles and served as short-term detention facility as well as TYC
juveniles, Schafer said. The contract with CSC/YSI contained an inter-local agree-
ment for education services between the county and the company.
Short-term detention is usually 10 days, unless there is no detention center in the
county and officials can detain juveniles for 15 days.
Providing educational services in an agreement similar to what was in place with
CSC/YSI is a long-term goal for both the Commissioners and Canadian Independent
School District, but cannot be provided on such a short-term basis, Martindale said.
The County is not obligated to have school on a short-term basis, Schafer said. It
will not affect juveniles placement at this facility.
The grounds around the facility need some maintenance, but the facility itself is in
good shape, Schafer said.
"It's ready to go. It's ready for someone to move in," she said. CSC/YSI did im-
provements before they moved out.
In May 2004, TYC removed 19 youths, which accounted for more than half of its
juveniles placed at the facility. A month later, the Commission removed the remaining
16. The 20 county probation detention juveniles were relocated at that time as well.
Trouble for the facility began when allegations of abuse by employees surfaced in
late 2003. By January 2004, the Texas Youth Commission and corporate headquar-
ters began investigating the charges. More problems, including employee retention
and pay, and training issues, arose as investigators probed deeper into the operations
of the facility. Once TYC juveniles were removed, CSC/YSI had to close the doors to
the facility.
County Commissioners sought termination of the 25-year contract with the Flori-
da-based corporation for breach of contract, which was effective October 11,2004.
Grand Jury indicts six on
unrelated drug and assault charges
The Grand Jury in Hemphill County indict-
ed six Friday, April 15 in 31st District Court
with Judge Steven Emmert presiding.
•Tara Starre Folk, 25, indicted for Posses-
sion of a Controlled Substance, a state jail fel-
ony. Folk is charged with possessing less than
one gram of methamphetamine. Bond was set
at $5,000.
•David Ray Cleveland, 37, indicted for As-
sault Against a Public Servant, a third degree
felony. Cleveland is charged with causing
bodily injury to former Sheriff's Deputy Dave
Thomas September 12,2004, by hitting the of-
ficer "in the face with the defendants head"
while being booked into the Hemphill County
jail. Bond was set at $10,000.
•Joshua Guy Williams, 26, indicted for Sex-
ual Assault, a second degree felony. Williams'
charge stems from a December 28,2003 inci-
dent in which he had sex with a woman without
her consent. Bond was set at $50,000.
•Robert Anthony Davidson, 19, indicted for
Forgery By Passing, a state jail felony. David-
son is charged with passing a forged check to
an employee at Lowe's Stores. Bond was set
at $10,000.
•Steven Lee Arp, 53, indicted for Posses-
sion of a Controlled Substance, a second de-
gree felony. Arp is charged with possessing
at least one gram or more, but less than four
grams of methamphetamine on July 5, 2004.
Arp was convicted in 1989 in Clark County,
Missouri of the felony offense of possession of
methamphetamine. Bond wasset at $10,000.
•Susan Wittington Bilbrey, 46, indicted for
Aggravated Assault Deadly Weapon Threat, a
second degree felony. Bilbrey is charged with
threatening family member Gary Lee Bilbrey
with imminent bodily injury and used or ex-
hibited "a deadly weapon, to wit; a hammer,
during the commission of said assault." Bond
was set at $10,000.
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Brown, Laurie Ezzell. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 115, No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 21, 2005, newspaper, April 21, 2005; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth220677/m1/7/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County Library.