Sierra Conservation Center News

Frank Chavez, a 35 year employee of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, has officially taken over the reins as Warden at Sierra Conservation Center.

An inmate who escaped from Gabilan Fire Camp was recaptured on Wednesday. Phillip Anthony Lopez, 41, who is serving four years for weapons and drug possession, walked away from the Sierra Conservation Center at 1 a.m. Monday.

State prison officials are searching for an inmate believed to have walked away from the Gabilan Conservation Camp in south Monterey County.

Baseline inmate Jeff Lemoi, 39, originally from Los Angeles, talks to a group of sixth- and seventh-graders at Belleview Elementary School about how his life decisions got him locked up.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has selected a new warden for Sierra Conservation Center.

Frank Chavez will become the fulltime Warden at the Sierra Conservation Center effective November 2nd.

A Sierra Conservation Center inmate who escaped from prison in July 2008 and set fire to a landmark home in Jamestown faces up to eight additional years in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday to arson and escape.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has announced it would send layoff notices to 1,443 employees including 35 at Sierra Conservation Center.

Socorro Salinas of Oakdale has been appointed warden of the Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, the governor's office announced Monday.

Alongside firefighters and forestry personnel, inmates from three state prisons battled the Station Fire on Mount Wilson, Tuesday.

The riot that ravaged a Southern California prison and injured 175 inmates began with a fight between black and Hispanic gang members, a stark reminder of the difficulty of race relations behind bars and the challenges of desegregating inmates.

The riot that ravaged a Southern California prison and injured 175 inmates began with a fight between black and Hispanic gang members, a stark reminder of the difficulty of race relations behind bars and the challenges of desegregating inmates.

In this photo taken Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009, inmates Tim Heffernan, left, and Daniel Mabson, talk while sitting on their adjcent bunks at the Sierra Conservation Center, in Jamestown, Calif.

Two strike teams of inmates from the Sierra Conservation Center have joined the firefighting effort at the 1,643 acre Knight Fire in the Stanislaus River Canyon.

A patchwork of programs is available in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties to keep people from repeating their crimes.

Judge Eleanor Provost juggles files on a suspect sitting at the defense table in Tuolumne County Superior Court.

Baseline crews from the Sierra Conservation Center stay busy during the summer months fighting fires across the Mother Lode.

Sierra Conservation Center Warden Ivan Clay will retire in August. Amy Alonzo Rozak/The Union Democrat Sierra Conservation Center Warden Ivan Clay has announced his retirement from the prison, ending a career in corrections that began there in 1982.

Why the retirement? "It's been a good career ... a great career. My first loyalty is to the institution and the staff as far as corrections is concerned but my first loyalty is to my family and if it's taking money out of my family's plate than I'm not being fair to my own family." "One of the greatest challenges was dealing with integrated ...

Dozens of Sierra Conservation Center inmates in blue robes received their diplomas Wednesday.