Senior News February, 2002 Vol. 21. No.  2

 

Published by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, California. HSRC is a non-profit community-based organization offering services for senior citizens, multi-generational families and caregivers.

Eureka's gift to New York: Coast to Coast Quilters reach out to families in need

Remembering spirit: The Olympic Flame

Support the Senior Legislature: Remember Line 53 on your tax form

School superintendent

Sheriff candidates

Del Norte County: Humboldt man commutes to teach computers to visually impaired

Bladder Fitness #4 Change your foods, change your life

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Sheriff candidates

Senior News is grateful to present advertising from many of the candidates on the March ballot. Since we couldn't add enough pages to print information on each race and each candidate, we selected two races to feature and have given space to the four candidates in those races - county sheriff and county school superintendent - to answer questions generated by the Senior News Editorial Advisory Board. We urge everyone to exercise your democratic right to vote in the March election.

The answers from Sheriff Lewis below are shorter than his opponents' because they were written as notes from a telephone conversation. We invited the sheriff to extend his answers. Senior News takes no sides nor makes any recommendations in this or any race on the March ballot.

- Barbara Clark

Sheriff candidates
Two candidates are on the ballot for county sheriff, the incumbant Dennis Lewis and Gary Philp, who is currently Chief Deputy Sheriff of Humboldt County.

1. We get calls at the Humboldt Senior Resource Center from seniors or neighbors of seniors who suspect financial abuse by family members or people making solicitations. We refer these callers to Adult Protective Services. How would you plan to impact this situation.

Dennis Lewis: We take this very seriously. We have two investigations going on right now and hope to prosecute.

Gary Philp: I feel it is important that people have a consistent, responsive and informed point of contact in the Sheriff's Department. I believe we should have a member of our department serving as a liaison to the community on these issues who would work with the Senior Resource Center, Adult Protective Services and citizens who have such concerns. This liaison will provide people with accurate information when they contact us with questions about frauds or scams, or when calling to check on reports they have filed. This person, working in partnership with other law enforcement agencies, would also be available to provide crime prevention education at senior facilities and to community based organizations and would work with our local media to provide pertinent information relating to issues of fraud. I would also like to develop a team consisting of representatives from our department and other agencies who can work together to properly and quickly investigate allegations of financial abuse or fraud against seniors.

2. How is the Prop. 36 Drug Treatment Diversion Program working?

Dennis Lewis: It's too soon to tell for certain. I think the drug court is working well. What I'm seeing regarding treatment is that many people are choosing jail time instead of treatment because drug addiction is such a strong thing.

Gary Philp: Proposition 36 has not had a significant impact locally, and I do not believe we will see a significant impact within our county correctional facility. The impact will more likely be seen in the state prison population. One of the reasons for this is the fact that locally we have been utilizing a Drug Court model for the last few years. Our local Drug Court has been working to divert first time drug offenders to treatment and attempting to keep them out of our facility. Most of the drug offenders who end up incarcerated in our correctional facility are persons who have other related criminal charges and are not eligible for diversion or are repeat offenders who have failed their probation or treatment program.

3. Rural areas like McKinleyville feel themselves under-policed. What plans do you have to help these places?

Dennis Lewis: We've just hired six more deputies and they're in training now. By mid-year these communities will feel some relief.

Gary Philp: I believe it is time we changed the way we do business and better utilize our available resources. In the case of McKinleyville, we normally assign two deputies per shift to cover the McKinleyville-North area. This is the way we have done business for over 29 years. Each day those deputies come to work in Eureka, check out and load their patrol cars and then attend briefing. At the end of their shift they then must drive back to Eureka leaving the McKinleyville-North area in time to return to Eureka prior to the end of shift to turn in and unload their patrol cars. On an average day, this takes up about an hour and 30 minutes to two hours of their shift. In addition, if they are in briefing and a call comes in from the McKinleyville-North area, the deputies will have an extended response time.

(Philp) I believe we need to do in McKinleyville as we have been doing for some time in our out-station areas, such as Garberville and Hoopa. I would assign specific deputies, on a long-term basis, to the McKinleyville-North area and have them report for work at the Law Enforcement Facility as their duty station. This would increase our actual hours of coverage and shorten our response times.

4. Would you allow members of the supervisors-appointed Human Rights Commission to be official witnesses at announced protests like those at Headwaters forest? Why or why not?

Dennis Lewis: I would support their being present, but the county risk manager won't allow it for liability reasons.

Gary Philp: Everyone is free to attend an announced protest. It is everyone's constitutional right. Our only concern is that persons who do so behave in a lawful manner. As law enforcement officers we are under close public observation at all times and have nothing to hide.

5. Would you sanction the use of pepper spray directly applied to protesters' eyes in order to break up a protest?

Dennis Lewis: No comment. This matter is under current litigation.

Gary Philp: The use of force in any form is a very serious matter and never to be taken lightly. Each incident we encounter is unique and has to be addressed according to the specific circumstances that present themselves to us at the time. Our first choice is to not have to use any force. That failing, our goal will be to always use the least amount of force necessary to carry out our lawful responsibilities.

6. What do you see as the three most important safety issues facing our population age 55 and older and how would you address them?

Dennis Lewis: Vehicle traffic and fraud, like Enron's collapse. I'm very upset about Enron and have heard many seniors comment that they have lost their life savings because of it. What seniors fear most, but which is least likely, is violent crime like a home invasion. It is not as likely as people fear.

Gary Philp: I believe that three of the most important safety issues facing our citizens 55 and older are elder abuse by in-home care providers, fraud committed by telemarketers, door-to-door sellers, and home repair scams, and personal safety both in the home and out in public. To better address these problems I must refer to my earlier point concerning having a specific person/liaison for people to call. I believe that the best way to address these issues is by having a proactive crime prevention and awareness education program. To accomplish this I would train and designate a Community Service Officer to act as a Crime Prevention Coordinator. This person will serve as an ombudsman from our department to the senior community. The Community Service Officer will be a central point of contact that can be called when one is suspicious of these types of problems or for assistance in dealing with our criminal investigators when necessary.

7. How aggressively would you pursue CAMP in light of the state approved medical use of marijuana?

Dennis Lewis: I'm a strong supporter of CAMP. I think it is totally unrelated to the medical use of marijuana. We're after the commercial growers; we're not interested in the person growing a plant or two to help them medically.

Gary Philp: I am not in favor of allowing the large scale commercial growing of marijuana and believe that we need to aggressively pursue these types of operations especially where guns or violence are involved. CAMP itself is a state program that is only active in our county for a period of weeks during the normal harvest season. I believe that as long as there is a CAMP program we need to be involved in order to exercise and maintain local control.

(Philp) I look at the issue of state-approved medical use of marijuana as being separate. The District Attorney and local law enforcement have developed a guideline for medical marijuana use in our county. Based upon this guideline, persons adhering to the adopted policy are not going to be prosecuted under state law. Therefore, I would not expend our already taxed resources in trying to prosecute medical marijuana users who meet the established criteria.