The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Six cases of theft have been reported at Sisters schools this year.

"This is very few cases," said Deschutes County Sheriff's Deputy Don Pray, who serves as the School Resource Officer for the Sisters School District.

One case of theft has been reported at the middle school and five cases have been reported at the high school. Items reported stolen at the high school are: clothing and a cell phone; a cell phone; a wallet and $4; $309 from a locker; and clothing.

"This is down big time from last year," Pray said.

In the first incident all clothing except one pair of pants and the cell phone were found. In the next three cases the cell phone, the wallet and $4 and the $309 have not been recovered. In the case of the $309, the money was taken from a locked locker and no forced entry was observed. All of the clothing was recovered in the fifth incident, and the girls who stole the items were arrested.

According to Pray, the level of reported theft at Sisters schools is insignificant.

"If people think that we're having a theft issue here at school whether it be that their kids are saying they are missing these items or that these items are stolen, they're not getting reported," Pray said.

Parent Jeanne Sellgren feels a theft problem does exist. Her son has had both clothing and over $100 from his wallet taken this year. (See Letters to the Editor, The Nugget, February 14, 2007, page 2.)

Sellgren told The Nugget that when the money was taken from her son's wallet, she asked the high school's assistant principal Mark Stewart if an announcement could be made about the incident.

"He said, oh, absolutely, but they never did (make the announcement)," Sellgren said.

According to Sellgren when she spoke to Stewart and a school secretary about the theft, neither directed her to Pray.

"They didn't take it too seriously. It's like, well, this stuff happens," Sellgren said.

Sellgren's son also had a jacket taken from a classroom. Although both regularly check the lost and found, the jacket has not turned up.

"I guess I didn't think to report (the thefts) to the sheriff because ... nothing was stolen out of his (her son's) car or stolen off of his person," Sellgren said.

Pray's advice to parents is to tell their children to act immediately when something goes missing. Parents should be the second ones to know that something has been stolen.

"Number one, let myself know or school staff know, especially if it is something of value like an iPod, a cell phone, a calculator. Clothes items are questionable; they do turn up." Pray said.

According to Pray there are hundreds of clothing items in the lost and found that go unclaimed for months.

"A lot of parents don't know they are missing until they do laundry at the end of the week," Pray said.

As the district's school resource officer, Pray acts as a liaison among the sheriff's department, the district's three schools, the school district as a whole and parents.

"I take care of all of the criminal aspects if anything happens in the schools," Pray said.

Pray also serves as a counselor for students 11 years of ages and younger, whether they are involved in criminal activities or on the fringe of being involved.

"Generally, we do not cite somebody into the juvenile department when they're that age. We try to handle it through a counseling and training type situation. We get the parents involved," Pray said.

Although there have been no incidents with younger children this year, Pray dealt with several cases at the elementary school last year, including a serious theft situation with a nine-year-old.

Most of the students Pray cites for crimes of theft and harassment have had no prior charges or convictions. Consequently, they are eligible for a diversion program through the juvenile department.

The local juvenile officer Eric Beckwith meets with these students and their parents. He sets up restitution, paying back the amount of an item that has been destroyed, if its criminal mischief. If the crime is theft and/or harassment, punishment can be community services, writing papers, and the like.

"They may go through the Outlaw Justice Court which we hold here (at the high school) once a month. It's like a teen peer court," Pray said.

According to Pray, crimes are often solved because students talk about what they have done.

"Sooner or later they are going to tell somebody else... and then it gets back to us in one form or another," Pray said.