Lawmakers say jail opposition heard in Pierre

By Scott Aust, Journal staff | Saturday, February 03, 2007

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RAPID CITY — The groundswell of local opposition to a proposed minimum security jail expansion in Rapid City

appears to be paying off, two area legislators indicated during Saturday’s Rapid City Area Chamber of Commerce legislative crackerbarrel.

The state Department of Corrections is seeking to buy land and buildings near an existing minimum-security prison on Creek Drive in Rapid City that houses fewer than 100 men in order to build a new unit that will house as many as 250 inmates.

People living nearby are adamantly opposed to the proposal and have been pushing lawmakers to reject the DOC’s request for money to buy the land.

HB1060 would appropriate $500,000 to the DOC to buy all of the land and existing buildings in the lot southeast of the Ash Avenue and Tallent Street neighborhood. The current unit is on 2-1/2 acres of land with access from Creek Drive.

Rep. Jeff Haverly and Sen. Bill Napoli said they had positive conversations with DOC Secretary Tim Reisch last week and that it appears that the state is willing to look for better locations. They said legislators and state officials will be making trips to Rapid City this week to view other sites.

“We are moving forward. He is very much interested … in finding a much better site that will expand our system into the future. It is looking very, very positive,” Napoli said.

About 200 people packed into the Classroom Building at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology for the second of four Saturday crackerbarrels to hear legislators’ thoughts on a variety of issues.

The legislature’s censure of Dan Sutton, D-Flandreau, came up in a question posed by businessman Bob Fisher, who asked Sen. Tom Katus why he didn’t vote to expel “a man who molested a young page.”

The legislature voted 32-2 to censure Sutton, who was accused of groping then 18-year-old Senate page Austin Wiese while the two shared a bed in a motel room last February. The two no votes against censure came from Napoli and Sen. Jerry Apa, R-Lead, as a protest, because both favored expelling Sutton from the Senate.

Katus said the issue between the two families is complex and noted that even after the allegations became public, the people of Sutton’s district re-elected him with a 59 percent majority.

“I believe those people know the dynamics of those families and what was going on much better than those of us in the legislature,” Katus said. “Yes indeed, a senator should not be sharing a bed with a young man. But Mr. Fisher, I would posit I’m not God. I don’t judge people.”

Katus said Sutton and the young man had a very special long-term relationship for years and that there had never been anything like this happen before. He also said a possible business dispute between Sutton and Dennis Wiese, the page’s father, appeared to play a role in the timing of the allegations.

“It’s ugly. It’s difficult. I just don’t believe that it was nearly as clear cut as you seem to think it was. I voted for censure, which I think is appropriate,” he said.

Napoli said the issue with Sutton was something every legislator had to decide for themselves.

“Dan Sutton was a friend of mine. I knew him from the first day he came 10 years ago. I worked with him on many bills. I had no preconceived notions about what happened, I paid no attention to rumors and I gave him every benefit of the doubt,” he said.

However, Napoli said two things happened that affected his judgment.

“Number one, he crawled into bed with a page. Number two, there was a sofa in the room that was a hide-a-bed. At no time was that suggested for the young man,” Napoli said.

Because he felt the total integrity of the Senate was on the line, Napoli said he voted for total expulsion.

“When you send your children to Pierre, we need to have standards far and above anywhere else. And that night, those standards weren’t there,” he said.

Sen. Royal “Mac” McCracken said the decision has been reached in the matter.

“It’s behind us. Let’s move on,” he said.

Fisher also challenged Katus about not supporting the death penalty and his position on abortion.

Katus said he has opposed the death penalty his entire life. He said he was born and raised on Standing Rock Indian Reservation and has lived in Africa, and both cultures have a very different value system on the issue.

Katus said in Africa, if a person kills another, he becomes responsible for the dead person’s family, and if you’re a Lakota, you and your family are shunned.

“I don’t believe taking another life helps at all,” Katus said.

With regard to abortion, Katus noted that he has adopted children and then said he believes in education and a living wage.

“I like to think I practice life; I don’t preach about it. I don’t judge people,” he said to a thundering round of applause.

The Feb. 10 crackerbarrel will feature remarks from Katus and Reps. Gordon Howie, Mark Kirkeby and Alan Hanks. On Feb. 24, Sen. Dennis Schmidt and Reps. David Lust and Brian Dreyer will speak.