On the afternoon of Feb. 20, San Quentin State Prison’s lower yard was again a buzz with inmates cheering for inmates as the second San Quentin Track Meet was contested between some very fast and talented young, and not so young men.
The first track meet held in August of 2006 was the brain child of inmate Ralph Ligons, a former 200M runner back in the early 1970’s. Ralph thought that there was an abundance of athletic talent amongst the inmates of San Quentin and wanted to give the inmates the opportunity to show their stuff! Ronnie Goodman, who participated in four of the races held was the driving force behind this year’s track meet.
For the past three and a half years San Quentin has had a running club, the San Quentin 1,000-Mile Club, meeting twice monthly to train the inmates and give them the opportunity to enjoy the competition and comradeship of running longer distances together. The San Quentin 1,000 -Mile Club was formed under the direction of Laura Bowman, with the purpose of helping to rehabilitate the inmates through recreation.
The February Track meet was finally held after several previous postponements due to bad weather. The track meet was supported by Laura Bowman, Jill Friedman, Frank Ruona, Steve Pascacio and several other inmates who where happy to lend a hand.
The first event of the day was a new event, the five Kilomenter Run (3.1 Miles). Goodman took the lead early and stayed all of the 12-1/2 laps of the race. Ronnie established an excellent new record time of 19:19. Stephen Liebb showed much fortitude in trying to hang with Goodman and finished second with a time of 21:39. Drew Mearis finished third in a strong 23:43. Ronnie Richardson kind of ran out of gas a couple miles into the run, but hung on and finished the race in fourth place.
Another new event, the 200-Meter Dash, was the next race that was run. This race was slightly downhill and the leaders took advantage of the downhill portion of the course and screeched to a very fast 22:01 time for winner Joseph Jones and 22:46 for second place finisher Abraham Glasper. Geronimo Washington ran a strong 26:43 for third place even though he was running in his work boots!
Next was the same 200 Meter Dash, but this one was for runners who were over 50 years of age. This event was won by Jerome Black in a time of 27:52. Malcolm Jones finished second in 36:13.
The one mile run was next. O. Camacho took off like a rabbit being chased by greyhounds on the first lap. Ronnie Goodman having already run the 5 Kilometer Race took off at a more moderate pace. By the second lap, Ronnie had closed the gap and he took the lead on the third lap. Ronnie hung on for the victory in 5:55, with O. Camacho 100 yards back in 6:19. Bill Pillars and Geronimo Washington battled it out on the last lap, with Pillars catching and passing Geronimo in the last straight-away to take third place with a time of 7:00.
The next event was the quarter mile. Floyd Lockett took off like he was going to leave everyone in the dust. He held the lead for about 300 meters and then the monkey climbed on his back and he really started to fade. Goodman, running his third race of the day, finished very strong and tied the meet record set by Pete Herndon in 2006 with a swift time of 1:01. Lockett hung on for second place with a time of 1:07. Franklin finished third with of 1:21 and Geronimo Washington ran 1:35 for fourth place.
Now it was time for the sprinters again. An open 100 Meter dash was held first and Alhondro Myers won the race with a time of 11:98. Joseph Jones, the winner of the 200 Meters, was second with a time of 13:42, while Geronimo Washington finished third in 14:01. The old-timers got their opportunity next, as the 100– meter dash for men 50 years and older was held. Jerome Black repeated his 200-meter victory with a time of 13:62 and broke Alan Eaton’s record of 13.76 set in 2006. Malcolm Jones finished second in 27:46.
The final event of the meet was the four by on quarter mile relay. Two teams were entered and this was a race to the finish. The team of Jerome Black, Malcolm Jones, Anthony Starks and Geronimo Washington just held off the team of Mearis, Floyd Lockett, Goodman and Pillars in a time of 4:46 to 4:48.
We lucked out and had beautiful weather for the meet.
The inmates have another year to work on their speed to see if in 2010 they can break one of the records at the Third San Quentin Track Meet.
Archives for April 2009
April 2009 News Briefs
- BUTNER, N.C. — A former California prison guard, Jose Ramon Garcia, 55 died in a North Carolina federal prison hospital while serving a six-year sentence for orchestrating fights and stabbings among prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison from July 1992 to August 1996.
- CARSON CITY, Nev. — Legislation to reform Nevada’s parole system has been introduced by a Democratic assemblyman and prison reform advocates. The bill, AB424, would amend the existing parole system which considers the severity of an inmate’s crime as the chief factor in parole decisions, to a more broad determination, which includes allowing prison staff to contribute in inmate parole determinations.
- SACRAMENTO — Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate has revealed a plan to expand three existing prisons. The plan will add space at Kern Valley, medium-security North Kern, build a re-entry center in Stockton for 500 inmates, and convert a juvenile center close to Paso Robles into a prison for 1,000 older men. The funding would come from $7.8 billion in bonds approved by the Legislature in April 2007 for prison and jail expansion.
- ARIZONA— Sen. John McCain made a visit to the “Hanoi Hilton” prison where he spent more than five years as a POW during the Vietnam War. McCain’s A4 fighter bomber was shot down by the North Vietnamese while on a mission over Hanoi. The crash resulted in severe injuries to McCain, including breaking both arms and a leg. According to McCain, he was captured, beaten and tortured.
- KANSAS — Ex-Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was transported from lock-up in Kansas to attend a bankruptcy hearing in Virginia. In July Vick filed for bankruptcy producing documentation which shows he has assets of about $16 million and debts of more than $20 million. Vick, who is serving a 23-month prison sentence for funding an illegal dog fighting ring, is expected to be released from custody in July.
- AUSTIN, Texas — The Department of Criminal Justice has ended the state of Texas’s control on prisoner phone calls which has been called the most restrictive in the nation. The new rules will allow approximately 120,000 Texas inmates to have up to 120 minutes of phone calls each month. The Texas prison system, the country’s second-largest corrections agency, will phase in the new prisoner phone access program over the next year.
- RICHMOND, Va. — The Obama administration won a request from the Supreme Court to stop a federal appeals court order which had invalidated a state law allowing for indefinite prison sentences for “sexually dangerous” offenders. At least 77 sex offenders who have served their initial prison sentences will remain in prison until the Supreme Court makes a decision on whether to hear the case.
- SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO — Gov. Bill Richardson signed legislation abolishing the death penalty in New Mexico. The state joins New Jersey as the only two states to have banned capital punishment since it was reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976. The repeal affects only crimes committed after July 1, 2009. Fourteen other states do not impose capital punishment.
- LOUISIANA —The annual Angola Prison Rodeo was held April 18 and 19 at what was at one time billed as “the bloodiest prison in America.” Sellout crowds are routine at the 10,000 seat stadium located at the 18,000 acre sprawling prison which also boasts an inmate produced magazine, radio station, vocational training program and a degree program in theology. As many as 1,000 of the prison’s 5,200 inmates assist in producing the rodeo.
A Change to Medication Auto Refill Policy
Effective September 1, there will be a change in procedure to the medication auto refill policy at San Quentin (S.Q.). Certain drugs will not be refilled automatically. These include over the counter drugs, (OTC’s) such as antacids, vitamins and allergy medications. Also excluded from auto refill will be topical medications such as creams, ointments and lotions. These drugs are used at variable rates (people come in different sizes) and it is impossible to accurately predict when someone would need a refill. As before ‘PRN’ medications will not be automatically refilled. These are drugs ordered on an as needed basis by the prescriber. A clue to this type of drug are the words “as needed” in the directions of the prescription.
Any and all of these medications can be ordered via Health Care Services Request Form CDCR 7362. This form should be completed by the inmate patient and turned in to the med pass nurse or designated area in the housing units. These requests will be processed by pharmacy provided refills are available and the orders have not expired. The drugs will be issued to the inmate patient by the nursing staff, usually within 24-48 hours. The change in the auto refill policy should help to prevent receiving large amounts of drugs which may not actually be needed by the inmate patient. As you may have noticed personal storage space is at a premium around here. Also, this will help nursing and pharmacy staff by alleviating the processing of unnecessary refills, returns and restocking of drugs
Certain prescriptions are refilled automatically by the pharmacy at S.Q. These medications are considered maintenance drugs and are necessary for the optimal health and wel
fare of patients. Included as maintenance drugs are drugs for blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, mental health and other chronic health conditions. These drugs are refilled automatically by the pharmacy until the original order is expired or discontinued by the prescriber. No notification is required on the part of nursing or the inmate patient to receive these orders on a regular schedule (usually monthly).
Pharmacy and nursing staff at C.S.P.-S.Q. look forward to more effectively serving the inmate population by allowing you to decide when you need something and when you don’t. Remember that maintenance medications won’t be affected by the policy and you don’t have to do anything for them to be dispensed to you. Being a partner in your own health care will ultimately provide for the best of care. And of course if you need something …just ask.
Health Fair Coming
Greetings San Quentin, we of The San Quentin T.R.U.S.T. would like to invite you to our sixth annual Health Fair on May 1. This health fair is being brought to you in a collaborative effort which includes the Alameda County Health Department, Center Force, the Prison University Project and San Francisco State University.
We will have numerous booths set up in varying areas of health related issues. As well as health professionals from many different fields, all here to help us in helping ourselves. It is our intent to bring as much awareness to the greater San Quentin community surrounding their health, as a means of ensuring that we are given the opportunity to live long and productive lives.