Recent editorials from South Carolina newspapers:
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April 17
The Post and Courier of Charleston on prison violence:
It’s easy for prisoners to be out of sight, out of mind, until an explosion of violence like the tragedy at Lee Correctional Institution that left seven inmates dead and 17 others hospitalized. The carnage highlights the critical need to fill vacant guard positions and to speed up much-needed reforms. The state also should seek outside help to figure out what makes South Carolina’s prisons so deadly.
Despite declining inmate populations, the state’s correctional institutions remain severely understaffed with about 1 in 4 jobs unfilled. They have become increasingly violent, with a dozen murders logged last year, and they’re plagued by a proliferation of drugs, gangs and contraband cellphones, as well as suicides, escapes and internal corruption.
Prisons director Bryan Stirling inherited decades of problems when he took over in 2013, and he’s made some improvements including pay raises for correctional officers and staffing increases. But those improvements have not come fast enough. For example, assaults in which prisoners were hospitalized have nearly doubled over the past two years compared to the previous two.
It’s time for Gov. Henry McMaster to ask the Justice Department’s National Institute of Corrections or a comparable organization for assistance.
In a column in The Post and Courier that presaged the latest bloodletting, Steve Bailey asked, “Does anyone care?” what happens behind bars, then answered, “We don’t care at our own peril,” because 85 percent of inmates now behind bars will be back among us in less than five years.
The outbreak of violence in which inmates were stabbed, slashed and beaten went on for nearly eight hours before guards were able to quell it. That suggests staffing at Lee, a maximum-security prison with about 1,500 inmates, was insufficient - even with a full complement of 44 officers - to put down the brawl without extra guards being bused in. Indeed, State Law Enforcement Division officers were brought in to help restore order.
At the same prison in March, an inmate held a guard hostage for nearly 90 minutes. The month before, an inmate killed a fellow prisoner there. Another inmate-on-inmate killing occurred in November, and another in July.
Cellphones behind bars are so widespread that one inmate was able to exchange messages with an Associated Press reporter. The inmate said it was unclear how the violence started, but that most prisoners were affiliated with gangs. He said the locks on many cell doors were broken before the fighting began, and inmates roamed the cell blocks freely. The correctional officers on duty retreated to a secure area, he said, and it was hours before anyone entered to render medical aid.
A chorus of state prison officials around the country, Mr. Stirling foremost among them, have pleaded with the Federal Communications Commission to relax its rules to allow cellphone jamming technology behind bars. That would certainly be a step in the right direction.
The spasm of violence at Lee was among the deadliest behind bars in recent years. But it isn’t the only S.C. prison with problems. Last year two inmates murdered four other prisoners at Kirkland Correctional Institution.
That’s unacceptable. While the state has a duty to protect its citizens from violent predators, it also has a duty to protect prisoners from each other. We cannot afford to turn a blind eye.
It’s time for Gov. McMaster to reach out for help. And the Legislature must back him up with the funding needed to make South Carolina prisons a place where inmates and guards don’t have to fear for their lives.
Online: https://www.postandcourier.com/
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April 18
Aiken Standard on a minor league park:
Turns out it was worth the wait.
SRP Park, a minor league stadium that has been more than five years in the making, opened last week in North Augusta, and even in its unfinished state it’s quite impressive.
The ballpark and surrounding Riverside Village development can best be summed up as symbol of North Augusta taking the next step as a city and a must-stop destination for visitors to the CSRA.
There have been big crowds so far, for the GreenJackets games and the college baseball game between Clemson and Georgia.
However, the true impact of the ambitious project and the opening of the new stadium can’t be told by the numbers.
It’s instead better measured by moments like Tuesday night’s North Augusta high school game with Greenbrier (Ga.). Each of the teenagers who came to the plate got to see their face plastered on the giant video board in left field.
That example just highlights the community feeling and sense of ownership North Augusta can take in having one of the best minor league ballparks in the Southeast region in their backyard.
The park is sure to create many more memorable moments like that over the course of the many years it will serve as a staple of the river region.
And that’s just the ballpark.
If the early excitement for the stadium is any sort of indicator, the enthusiasm that should follow the completion of the surrounding amenities will not only provide a spark for the city, but put it on par with other major cities around the state that have invested in creating an exciting environment for its residents.
The next step is met with hesitance sometimes, which is understandable, but it’s also needed.
The buzz that’s come from the baseball aspect is just a start. Growth is inevitable in the North Augusta area, so it only stands to reason that the City have something to lead the way in the progression into the future.
SRP Park is just a start of the success North Augusta could see as a city and a destination. Perhaps the GreenJackets baseball team has also provided a motto North Augusta can also adopt.
Instead of just trying to keep up with other destination cities, North Augusta might as well just rule the river and a part of the region of the state.
Riverside Village could certainly be a step toward that.
Online: https://www.aikenstandard.com/
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April 18
The Times & Democrat on the USDA:
Ensuring that government assistance is meeting the needs of those entitled to benefits is about guarding against abuses as much as expanding the safety net.
As part of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s strategic goal of ensuring that programs are delivered efficiently, effectively and with integrity, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service announced an enhanced focus on program integrity that will include renewed attention on transparency, payment accuracy, fraud and waste prevention, and improved quality control.
“Where protection of taxpayer dollars is concerned - the job is never done,” Acting Deputy Under Secretary for USDA Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Brandon Lipps said. “We are renewing our commitment to ensuring that our nutrition programs are run as effectively and efficiently as possible; increasing program integrity while maintaining the nutrition safety net for those truly in need.”
To kick off the effort, Lipps announced creation of the new position of chief integrity officer to manage oversight, improvements and overall integrity strategy. The position will be located in the office of the administrator at FNS and will be tasked with overseeing integrity initiatives in all 15 federal feeding programs administered by FNS.
FNS programs include the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the Summer Food Service Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which together comprise America’s nutrition safety net.
In addition, FNS has initiated an independent, third-party review of its integrity efforts across the agency’s nutrition programs. This comprehensive review will support the identification of improvements to the process currently in place, as well as explore the implementation of promising practices across government and the private sector.
The objectives of USDA and its Food and Nutrition Service, as previously outlined by Lipps, are:
. “Self-Sufficiency - The American dream has never been to live on government benefits. People who can work, should work. We must facilitate the transition for individuals and families to become independent .
. “Customer Service - Together, we must ensure that our programs serve SNAP participants well. In order to achieve a high degree of customer service, we at FNS must also provide states the flexibility to test new and better ways to administer our programs, recognizing that we are all accountable to the American taxpayer for the outcomes.”
. “Integrity - We must ensure our programs are run with the utmost integrity. We will not tolerate waste, fraud or abuse from those who seek to undermine our mission.”
Not the least of the three is integrity. Ensuring it is essential to maintaining popular and political support for programs that too frequently are political footballs.
As Lipps said: “Integrity is essential to meeting the mission of all FNS nutrition programs, now and into the future. We will continue to improve operations and outcomes in close collaboration with its state and local partners to combat waste, fraud, and abuse and best serve our participants and American taxpayers.”
Online: http://thetandd.com/
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