Pawhuska Daily Journal-Capital (Pawhuska, Okla.), Vol. 74, No. [173], Ed. 1 Tuesday, August 30, 1983 Page: 1 of 10
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DA TI Y Jo UR NA ICA PIT: 5
■* • ALs • AHI IW/MA A A E A 3
Pawhuska, Osage County,Oklahoma
Tuesday, August 50, 1985 Vol. 74- No. • 825R
OI
EXO
m
DION
Sunday 25‘ Daily 20‘
All is quiet now at Conner
HOMINY, Okla. (AP) — National Guard troops helped round up prisoners
today at an over-crowded Oklahoma prison where a dispute over food
erupted into a “spontaneous” uprising that left one inmate dead, 23 injured
and five buildings burned.
Gov. George Nigh declared a state of emergency in the early hours today
at the medium-security Conner Correctional Center, but his press secretary,
John Reid, said about dawn that authorities had regained control of the
prison.
“It’s under control,” Reid said. “We’ve ezgrr) the houses.”
Reid added that damage to the five-year-old prison was “extensive.” Five
buildings were torched, including three dormitories, a kitchen-laundry and a
gymnasium.
Guards at the prison retreated outside the 16-foot fences when the uprising
erupted about 8:40 p.m. Monday with some prisoners complaining they were
not getting enough to eat, said Corrections Director Larry Meachum.
The prison was designed to hold 400 inmates, but 747 were housed there
Monday, officials said.
Nigh announced the state of emergency at a 2:30 a.m. news conference. He
said the declaration would give authorities the control needed to resolve the
disturbance and relieve them of liability.
Gunshots rang out as authorities re-entered the prison compound 30 miles
northwest of Tulsa and regained control. Shortly after 3 a.m., shirtless in-
mates were led out of the prison in small groups under heavy guard. They
were tied with cord, searched and loaded onto National Guard buses which
shuttled them to other state facilities.
Prisoners lined against a fence as authorities prepared to load them onto
the buses shouted to reporters that they had been “shot down.”
Meachum said the rioting seemed to be “spontaneous.”
“There was no structure, no leadership, no demands,” he said.
He said there were no reports of inmates having guns, but officials were
unsure about other weapons.
Meachum said damage was heaviest at the prison’s law library and a
kitchen. Windows were shattered in three dormitories.
The corrections director said he still thinks the prison, described as a
“model” facility when it was built, “is one of the best-designed prisons in the
country.” The riot has been “an expensive lesson. I hope we could all learn
from it.”
Lou Bullock, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who has
handled prison-overcrowding lawsuits, was at the scene and described the
riot as a “needless tragedy.”
“When the food started running thin, they (inmates) got mad,” he said.
During the night, all the gunfire heard was from authorities who fired in
the air to keep prisoners from attempting to escape.
At least 19 inmates were injured. The dead prisoner was identified as Greg
Hodges, 27, of McCurtain County. Hominy hospital administrator Dennis
James said Hodges had been shot in the chest and face. The body was taken
to the medical examiner’s office.
Three guards were treated at a local hospital after the disturbance broke
out at 8:40 p.m. Monday.
The only gunshots came from police and guards who said they mainly
fired into the air.
There were no hostages taken by the prisoners. All 150 prison employees
were accounted for after the disturbance broke out, said Corrections
Department spokeswoman Joyce Jackson.
The dead prisoner was identified as Greg Hodges, in his mid 20s. Hominy
hospital administrator Dennis James said Hodges had been shot in the chest
and face.
Three guards were treated at a local hospital.
There was no estimate of the damage caused but four buildings — three of
them dormitories — were burned. National Guard troops bolstered the 1 a ks
of about 120 guards, local police and highway patrolmen.
The prison was designed to hold 400 inmates, but 747 were there Mon 1
(Continued on page 10)
Pawhuskans
aid in roundup
BY MORT GLASSNER
HOMINY -- Several members of Pawhuska’s Fire Department and
deputies from the sheriff’s office here played somewhat subdued yet active
roles during the “spontaneous uprising” and resultant fires Monday night at
Conner Correctional Center near here.
Pawhuska Fire Chief Bob Sholl said he received a call at approximately
8:30 p.m. Monday from an official at Conner. “We , in turn, called him to
verify we were coming,” Sholl said. A pumper and firemen Bill Baker, Fred
Green and John McGlasson then were dispatched to the scene.
Sholl continued, “About an hour or so later, we sent a rescue truck with
generators for lighting. We sort of just stood around and waited. We were
there on a standby basis only. We didn’t fight any fires. We watched the
fires in concrete buildings burn themselves out.
In addition to Pawhuska, fire-fighting units from Hominy, Cleveland,
Pawwnee, Fairfax, Bartlesville, SSkiatook and Pawnee went to the scene,
but no water was sprayed.
Sholl said Pawhuska’s firemen remained on the scene until about 8:45 a.m.
today.
Several deputies from Sheriff George Wayman’s force assisted in securing
the area, Sholl said. ‘“They assisted in moving prisoners to the baseball
field. They were moved in groups of 10, single file, all the way to the front
center of the facility. The prisoners were strip-searched, handcuffed and
then loaded on to vehicles which took them to various institutions throughout
the state,” the fire chief concluded.
Brief
WINNERS
Numerous awards were made
during The Floral Affair’s grand
opening here.
Included were Lola Hestand,
1,5000 Green Stamps; Martha Slone,
1,000 Green Stamps; Gayla Dilbeck,
500 Green Stamps; Irene Fountain,
pitcher plant; Flo Hutson, round
planter; Patti Smith, pink fan;
Clark Smith, round skillet; Jeanni
Quillin, peach basket; Elizabeth
Hermann, burgundy basket;
Amanda Jester, doll dress-up kit;
Josh Atterberry, musical pillow,
and Kevin Hermann, yellow bear.
MEETING
Four members of Elks Lodge No.
2542 in Pawhuska attended the Elks’
District Deputy clinic last Saturday
at the Tulsa Elks Lodge.
Participating from Pawhuska
were Brady Jones, Exalted Ruler;
Jim Schooling, secretary; Gary S.
Wehl, treasurer, and Clancy
Hudson, Leading Knight.
COMMISSIONERS
Osage County Commissioners will
meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the
court house.
The commissioners have a special
meeting on the last business day of
each month.
"NOtessing
EARLY-MORNING SEARCH - - Prisoners at Conner Correctional Center near state prisons. Prisoners were searched early Tuesday before boarding buses.
Hominy are escorted outside the main gate of the medium security facility, (Photo by Charlie Mohr, Bartlesville-Examiner-Enterprise)
searched and placed on Army National Guard buses for transport to other
Special
session
looming?
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A
legislative leader said today there is
“a high possibility” a special
session of the Legislature will have
to be called in the aftermath of the
Conner Correctional Center riot.
Rodger Randle of Tulsa, chair-
man of the Senate Appropriations
and Budget Committee, said the
chances of a special session would
hinge on the amount of damage and
possibility that a portion of the
prison at Hominy could be reopened.
But he said the budget of the
Corrections Department “is so
tight” he doubts there would be
enough emergency funds available
to deal with the problem.
(Continued on page 10)
PRISONERS AWAIT NEW'HOME'-- Several prisoners (Photo by Charlie Mohr, Bartlesville Examiner
mill near a fence at Conner Correctional Center as they Enterprise).
await transportation to other facilities in the state.
VIMII
WAL-MART HELPS IN CAMPAIGN - - Marshall
Walthall, assistant manager of the Wal-Mart Store in
Pawhuska, presents gifts to six year-old Angela Beard
who is the city's Muscular Dystrophy Association
(MDA) ambassador. The presentation was made while
A
a fire truck was stationed near the store. Contributors to
the campaign received plastic fire helmets. Others in
photo, from left, are Betty Wade, Carolyn Pettay, John
Simmons, Wal-Mart manager; C.C. Crawford and
Shannon McGuire. (Photo by Richard Gibson, Jr. )
PAWHUSKANS ON THE WAY
Members of
Pawhuska's Army National Gurad unit board a truck as
they prepare to play a security role following the
disturbance Monday evening at Conner Correctional
Center near Hominy. (Photo by Tim W. Wood, Bar-
tlesville Examiner-Enterprise).
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Glassner, Mort. Pawhuska Daily Journal-Capital (Pawhuska, Okla.), Vol. 74, No. [173], Ed. 1 Tuesday, August 30, 1983, newspaper, August 30, 1983; Pawhuska, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2285918/m1/1/: accessed July 10, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.