header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
November 22
1843 - Rancho Castec (Lebec-Tejon area) granted to French immigrant Jose Covarrubias [story]
Rancho Castec diseno map


| Friday, Jul 9, 2021
Sign on Bouquet Canyon Road for Camp Scudder and Camp Scott. 062421. Dan Watson/The Signal

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is scheduled Tuesday to consider supporting the creation of a permanent juvenile detention facility at Camp Joseph Scott or Camp Kenyon Scudder, which are both in Saugus.

If approved, the board motion – submitted by county Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Sheila Kuehl –would have the county adopt a state subcommittee’s recommendations to move violent youth offenders to the Santa Clarita facilities, which were originally designed to host non-violent youth offenders.

The motion directs the county to “ensure that the appropriate renovations are made at Scott or Scudder within 90 days to be safe and ready for use,” while male youth sentenced after July 1, 2021, are temporarily housed at county-run Campus Kilpatrick in Malibu and female youth are housed at county-run Dorothy Kirby Center in Commerce.

The Saugus facilities would need to align with the vision of Youth Justice Reimagined – a set of recommendations made by the county’s Youth Justice Work Group to reimagine a county justice system that “centers on youth development and wellbeing.”

Community concerns around the selection of these local sites have grown since June, when the community learned of the subcommittee’s decision, first announced May 27.

Santa Clarita Mayor Bill Miranda and members of the Santa Clarita City Council voted last month to send a letter formally opposing the plan following several public comments at a recent City Council meeting where Santa Clarita residents voiced their opposition, citing impacts on public safety, property values and traffic in Bouquet Canyon.

“It’s just reckless and hasty to say the least,” Miranda told The Signal of the decision to use Camps Scott and Scudder. “The subcommittee which made this recommendation has not even spent any time talking with our community. In addition, no outreach or communication regarding this plan has been made to the city, or to myself or to any of my fellow council members.”

The city also called on residents “to reach out to the Board of Supervisors and their justice deputies if you have concerns about having violent offenders located near homes in an area that is prone to wildfires and floods.”

The city’s posts were published shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday on both Facebook and Twitter and list the contact information for the supervisors’ offices.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Santa Clarita and north Los Angeles County, has also expressed concerns.

“The supervisor wants to make sure that the community has the opportunity for input, that she has the opportunity to provide input (and) that this is a transparent process” said Michelle Vega, a spokeswoman for Barger.

Vega said the motion, if it passes, would not impact the Saugus camps in unincorporated Los Angeles in the current fiscal year, which started last week. She said the next report on the issue is due in January.

“Supervisor Barger is hoping to have (the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council’s Community Advisory Committee) have in-person community meetings,” Vega said, noting that Barger will encourage fellow supervisors to support holding community meetings.

Vega said Barger also plans to ask that the JJCC “assess and report back to the board pretty quickly on the other camps that weren’t assessed.”

Camp Munz-Mendenhall in Lake Hughes, Holton Conservation Camp in Sylmar and the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall, also in Sylmar, where the county currently houses youth in the state’s care who are awaiting trial, are potential alternatives to Scott and Scudder, according to Vega.

A statewide realignment of the juvenile justice system resulting from Senate Bills 92 and 823 prompted the creation of the state subcommittee and called for the state’s juvenile facilities to be closed by 2023. The decision means local jurisdictions will become responsible for housing youth offenders who previously would have been in state custody.

For now, incarcerated youth in Los Angeles County will remain at the temporary facilities until after the county completes renovations at the Saugus camps, creating a small group model environment.

Last month, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department report found that Camp Scott and Camp Scudder need major security improvements to accommodate violent youth offenders.

The board will also consider Tuesday a $722,000 project at Camp Scott to improve vehicular access by replacing existing guardrails and extending the guardrail system and installing new lights to increase visibility.

Jon Hatami, a Santa Clarita Valley resident and a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, called on county supervisors to “take a stand for what’s right and fair” in a statement to The Signal.

“The safety of children and families is still important. The community has a right to be heard. We all have a right to make sure any facility housing murderers and rapists is safe for the people working inside the facility and the families living outside the facility,” Hatami said in a prepared statement.

Hatami called out Supervisors Mitchell and Kuehl for proposing to adopt the state subcommittee’s recommendation, saying the supervisors “don’t live in or govern our community” and that they did not consult with “Santa Clarita residents, homeowners, families, law enforcement or the city.”

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

0 Comments

You can be the first one to leave a comment.

Leave a Comment


SCV NewsBreak
LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
Friday, Nov 22, 2024
Hart Board Selects Current Interim Superintendent to Fill Vacancy
Following an extensive search, the Governing Board of the William S. Hart Union High School District has unanimously selected current Interim Superintendent Dr. Michael Vierra as the new Hart District Superintendent, filling the vacancy created when Mike Kuhlman resigned effective June 30.
Friday, Nov 22, 2024
Dec. 8: ‘Charles Phoenix Holidayland’ at Newhall Family Theatre
The nonprofit Raising the Curtain Foundation will host a fundraising event, "Holidayland" with mid-century pop culture expert Charles Phoenix, on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 3 p.m.
Friday, Nov 22, 2024
Nov. 26: City Council Meets to Discuss Contracts, Open Space Naming
The Santa Clarita City Council will hold its regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 26, beginning with a special closed meeting at 5 p.m., followed immediately with open session at 6 p.m.
Keep Up With Our Facebook

Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Awards + Installation event on Friday, Jan. 31 at the Hyatt Regency.
Jan. 31: SCV Chamber Awards + Installation Early Bird Tickets
The Valley Industry Assoction will host a Cocktails & Conversation event with Cameron Smyth on Thursday, Dec. 12, 5:30=7:30 p.m. at Margarita’s Mexican Grill, 23320 Valencia Blvd., Valencia, CA 91355.
Dec. 12: Cocktails & Conversation with Cameron Smyth
Following an extensive search, the Governing Board of the William S. Hart Union High School District has unanimously selected current Interim Superintendent Dr. Michael Vierra as the new Hart District Superintendent, filling the vacancy created when Mike Kuhlman resigned effective June 30.
Hart Board Selects Current Interim Superintendent to Fill Vacancy
"Christmas Carol: The True Meaning of Christmas" will be performed on stage at the Canyon Theatre Guild on weekends beginning Friday, Nov. 29 thru Monday, Dec. 23 at 24242 Main St., Newhall, CA 91321.
Nov. 29: ‘Christmas Carol, The True Meaning of Christmas’
The California Air Resources Board has approved a $34.94 million incentives funding plan that will continue support ongoing efforts to increase access to medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission trucks, buses and equipment, with a focus on small businesses.
CARB Incentive Plan Focuses on Fleets for Small Businesses
Preparing to decorate for the holidays? If you come across broken string lights that are no longer usable, instead of tossing in the trash you can now drop them off for recycling at one of the SAFE collection centers
Recycle Broken Holiday Lights at SAFE Collection Centers
The nonprofit Raising the Curtain Foundation will host a fundraising event, "Holidayland" with mid-century pop culture expert Charles Phoenix, on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 3 p.m.
Dec. 8: ‘Charles Phoenix Holidayland’ at Newhall Family Theatre
The Santa Clarita City Council will hold its regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 26, beginning with a special closed meeting at 5 p.m., followed immediately with open session at 6 p.m.
Nov. 26: City Council Meets to Discuss Contracts, Open Space Naming
The American Cancer Society Relay for Life of Santa Clarita Valley will present its holiday boutique fundraiser, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, at Santa Clarita United Methodist Church, 26640 Bouquet Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91350.
Nov. 23: ACS Relay for Life SCV Holiday Boutique
California State Parks Office of Historic Preservation has announced it will begin accepting applications for the State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program at 8 a.m. on Jan. 6, 2025.
State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program Launch
1843 - Rancho Castec (Lebec-Tejon area) granted to French immigrant Jose Covarrubias [story]
Rancho Castec diseno map
Due to construction and weather delays, the closure of the exercise staircase at Central Park, 27150 Bouquet Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91350, will be extended through Nov. 28.
Central Park Exercise Staircase Closure Extended Thru Nov. 28
Santa Clarita Ballet's 30th anniversary production of "The Nutcracker" will perform, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 14-15 at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.
Dec. 14-15: Santa Clarita Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’
Registration is underway for the College of the Canyons winter 2025 session, which boasts more than 300 class sections.
COC Winter 2025 Registration Underway
Christmas came early for The Master's University Men's Basketball Head Coach Kelvin Starr.
TMU Men’s Basketball Knocks Off No. 2, Starr Sees 300th Win
Theatre in a Week and Off Book Theatre is back with its holiday one act comedy "Holiday Hijinx" Friday, Dec. 13- Sunday, Dec. 15 at The MAIN in Old Town Newhall.
Dec. 13-15: ‘Holiday Hijinx’ Presented by Theatre in a Week, Off Book Theatre
The Santa Clarita Master Chorale presents its Silver Bell Jubilee concert Sunday, Dec. 8, 4 p.m. at Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.
Dec. 8:  Santa Clarita Master Chorale Presents Silver Bell Jubilee
The holiday season is just around the corner and it’s one of the most magical times of the year.
Mayor Cameron Smyth | Experience Holiday Cheer on the Tracks
Celebrate this special time of year with the 29th annual Winter Magic Lighted Boat Parade and holiday event Saturday, Dec. 7 at Castaic Lake, Lower Lagoon.
Dec. 7: The 29th Annual Winter Magic Lighted Boat Parade
1967 - Local voters approve formation of community college and elect COC's first five-member board - Dr. William G. Bonelli Jr., Bruce Fortine, Sheila Dyer, Peter Huntsinger, Edward Muhl [story]
COC board
You can make a difference in a child or teen’s life this holiday season through the Boys and Girls Club of the Santa Clarita Valley. You can volunteer at a club holiday event, host a toy drive, sponsor a club family or make a donation.
Hope for the Holidays with Boys & Girls Club of SCV
Art, in whatever the medium, can communicate so much. It can inspire imagination, exude peace and calm, or tell the world the stories of a community and a culture or connect on an extremely personal level.
Kalli Arte Collective to be CSUN’s First Orndorff Artist-in-Residence
The city of Santa Clarita invites community members to attend the unveiling of the newest inductees to the Walk of Western Stars.
Nov. 23: New Honorees Inducted into Walk of Western Stars
Supervisor Kathryn Barger commented on Attorney General Rob Bonta’s announcement that he is pursuing additional monitoring and strengthened protections for youth in Los Angeles County’s juvenile halls.
Barger on Protections for Youth in Juvenile Halls
SCVNews.com