One hundred minimum security prisoners and fourteen Oregon Department of Corrections staff are assisting with flood relief and clean-up in Vernonia, Oregon. In early December, the northwest coast was hit by a major storm that downed trees and caused floods and mudslides. The town of Vernonia was completely flooded and roads into the town of 2,200 people were blocked by mudslides. Prisoners will help with the clean-up and will help serve meals to others aiding with the clean-up of the city.

This isn’t the first time prisoners have assisted communities during disasters. For several summers, prisoners have worked on wildfire crews, and during the floods in 1996, prisoners filled sand bags and helped with the flood clean-up.

This news brief is based on a news release on the Oregon Department of Corrections web site, Staff Supervised Inmate Work Crews Join Vernonia Clean-Up [1].  If the link is broken, check the web site’s archives.