By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer

Jim Weed took his position as administrator of the regional jail with full knowledge of past problems and equal confidence about the future.

“I’ve done my due diligence and am aware that we’re moving away from a history of issues,” said Weed.

“But I love this kind of work and this is a great facility and I want it to succeed.”

Weed, 58, was selected by the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facilities Board of Directors as the top choice out of five finalists. He will earn an annual salary of $85,000 plus benefits.

NORCOR is located in The Dalles and opened its doors to both juvenile and adult inmates in October 1999. The $17-million jail serves Hood River, Wasco, Sherman and Gilliam counties.

Weed steps into the vacancy left by Ron Hager in September. Hager had only been at the NORCOR for four months. He resigned due to an FBI probe into his investigative work in Mexico while he working for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona.

Weed arrives from Ellensburg, Wash., with 30 years of experience in law enforcement. As the sheriff of Okanagan County, he managed a 132-bed jail with a multijurisdictional base.

Because of his budgeting skills, Weed was hired in 2001 as the administrator for Okanagan County. Within two years of hanging up his badge, he had gotten the expenses of the government agency back in the black.

Although he tried three other civilian jobs after retiring as sheriff, Weed realized that he was most comfortable in the realm of criminal justice.

By that time, he and his wife, Sheila, had relocated from Okanagan to Ellensburg, Wash. Their two grown sons, Tim and Jim Jr., are law enforcement officers in that community.

Weed felt an immediate interest when he ran across the advertisement for the open position at NORCOR. He then did an Internet search about the facility and learned that there had been a series of high-profile personnel problems during 2007.

He couldn’t quell the desire to take on the challenge and convinced Sheila it was time for a move. She decided the time was also right for her to make a career change from an escrow officer. She is now a full-time college student with plans to earn a degree in accounting.

“I think the NORCOR staff is wary right now; they want to know if I’m just another face in a long line of faces,” said Weed.

For two years before Hager was hired, NORCOR was operating without an administrator. The board of directors had decided to save money by not immediately filling the position vacated by Paul Burnett, who retired. Darrell Hill, former sheriff of Wasco County, was brought in to fill the role temporarily once problems arose.

In early 2007, several supervisors and employees were named in numerous complaints about gender discrimination, sexual harassment, money mismanagement and inmate mistreatment.

Hood River County Commission Chair Ron Rivers, who serves on the NORCOR board, demanded an investigation into these allegations. Since Hill had already returned to retirement, former Gilliam County Judge Laura Pryor was brought on board as interim director. She had dealt with most of the major problems by the time that Hager arrived in 2008. She agreed to step back in a second time during the search for his replacement.

Weed now in the process of interviewing his 68 employees to learn of their concerns and revamp their job descriptions as necessary.

“I’m still evaluating to see what needs to happen,” he said. “I am asking everyone what they want out of their job, and where they want us to be in five years.”

Although he is open to suggestions from his employees, Weed is very aware that the buck stops with him.

“My management style is simple; if people under me fail at something, there better be a good reason for it,” he said.

“I expect everyone to work hard because they are taking the public’s money and need to give them their due. Period.”

On July 4, Weed will celebrate his 59th birthday and he doesn’t plan to retire for another 10 years. His favorite dessert is apple pie and he drives a Chevy pickup – but adamantly denies being a redneck.

“I can be a tough taskmaster, but I include everyone in the decision-making process and then I instill accountability to make sure everything works right,” he said.