Colter Henning returned from Labette Correctional Conservation Camp about six months ago, determined to make some major changes in his life.
It’s not that Labette’s boot camp-style program transformed him, he said; in fact, there were times that he found some facets of the camp utterly inadequate.
But there were opportunities for learning and self-evaluation, and he’d gone in with an attitude open to change. He came home with a better understanding of himself and an opportunity to accept help that he hadn’t always known was available.
The camp is scheduled to be closed on July 1, and Henning is not sure whether that would be a bad thing.
“I’m indifferential on that. I feel like it’s going out of business ... for a reason, but then again if they actually did have the staff to like make it like it was, where it was actually helping people, then I feel like it would be a good thing to keep around,” Henning said.
It was not until near the end of his term at Labette that he felt that the camp had given him anything to take back with him to a life outside.
Henning’s family life had turned upside-down a few years ago while he was still a student at Northern Heights High School. In only a few months, close family members and a friend died.
His mother, Leigh, succumbed to cancer in early December 2006. Her sister, Lynn, was to take him and his sister into her home — until Lynn died days later in an accident on Christmas Eve.
In 2007, his grandmother, Virginia Henning Roberts, also died.
“And then on top of that I lost my best friend, Beau (Arndt), from middle school,” he said.
Henning and his sister had been especially close to their mother.
“We told our mom everything,” he said. “There was nothing we ever kept from her. If you can’t tell your mom, then who can you tell, right?”
He has since realized that those losses brought on a change in him.
“I was a hateful person,” Henning said, describing his attitude at the time. “Everybody was out to get me.”
The losses coming so close together made life difficult for the two youngsters, emotionally, financially, and realistically.
Social Security funds ran out when Henning turned 18 and graduated from high school, forcing him and his sister to move from their mother’s home.
“My sister moved in with me because I wanted her to finish high school,” Henning said. “… I just kind of went downhill.”
He knew that he needed help to deal with his feelings, but he thought none was available.
“I didn’t have any insurance,” he said. “I didn’t figure it would be worth checking on. If I had gone to the health center where I go now, I would have known they have special programs. They’ll work with you.”
Instead, Henning turned to marijuana, alcohol, and other drugs.
His illegal activities soon brought him into contact with law enforcement.
“I caught a couple of possession charges for weed, marijuana,” he explained.
He said tried about every illegal drug available, except heroin, which was something he wouldn’t allow himself to touch. He believes he became addicted to marijuana.
“I would say I’m addicted to weed,” he said. “Obviously it wasn’t enough getting caught the first time or the second time. I had to go for lucky number 3.”
The marijuana kept his mind from racing to thoughts he didn’t want to have, and though he realized drugs were illegal, he did not stop himself from getting the relief he craved.
“It helped relax me, was what it was. Like, I guess I was in a bad shape of mind, just in general. I was always thinking about something. … (Smoking marijuana) was like taking a 15- or 20-minute break from myself,” Henning said.
He was sentenced to Drug Court, an intensive, closely monitored program that lasts up to 18 months and gives offenders opportunities to change their themselves and their habits. But Henning wasn’t prepared to make the effort Drug Court required of him.
Because he had difficulty sleeping, he would stay up playing video games, often as late as 4 a.m. Then, he would oversleep and miss his appointments with court service officials.
“It showed that I wasn’t trying early, early on, and they weren’t going to waste the time on me,” Henning said.
“When you first start off, it’s a little overwhelming, and I thought I could buck the system, and I was wrong. So the judge gave me an option to go to boot camp or to go talk to Judge Larson ... which probably would have meant prison. They really didn’t have any other sanctions they could give me.”
The prospect of Labette had made him uneasy. He’d heard stories when he was in the Lyon County Jail about how Labette had been operated.
“When I first got there, I was scared. Hey, it’s boot camp,” he said. “I was thinking it was going to be like lockdown. I thought it was going to be a nightmare.”
After about a month, he “got the hang of it,” he said. “I thought it was a joke, really.”
Inmates at Labette were grouped according to levels of accomplishment toward their goals, with colored tabs on their uniforms to denote their classifications.
At one level, inmates were required to study a handbook on which they would be tested.
“It was a lot to memorize if you don’t take it seriously, so you need all the time you get,” he said.
Some inmates read their handbooks, while others slept or talked to each other and annoyed the staff.
Most of the staff wasn’t much help, Henning said.
“Don’t get me wrong, there were a couple who did care and were actually there to help you out, but most of them, there were some characters,” he said. “All they wanted to do was sit around and talk” among themselves.
“It was kind of like a day care,” he continued. “That was like a joke we had between the inmates. It was like a daycare for teenagers. ... Most of them (the staff) were just kind of sitting there just to get a paycheck.”
He perceived that some staff members treated favorite inmates better than the rest.
“They didn’t get special privileges or anything, but when they should have gotten a harsher punishment, nothing happened, because they got along with them,” Henning said.
Later in Henning’s stay, a former staff member returned to Labette and, though he was strict, Henning grew to admire him. He speculated that perhaps the good staff members had quit earlier and had been replaced by new ones who either did not care or were inept. The man who returned was different than most of the staff.
“It took me a while to get kind of a liking to him because he was kind of a hard-ass,” Henning said. “When he came in there, he was balls to the wall, all the rules. But he was fair. He understands that every day’s not going to be a good day.
“He’s giving you a warning. He’s letting you know you f’ed up. You’re just having a bad day; stay out of trouble, do what you’re supposed to and I won’t turn it in. ... In the end, it was pretty cool. He was a pretty good officer.”
As the inmates made progress and rose to the third level, they were allowed more freedoms and more responsibilities. At the “green” level, inmates were allowed outside the camp, to work on improvement projects in surrounding communities, including areas that were hit by flooding in southeast Kansas.
“It was pretty fun driving around,” he said. “We’d listen to country music, kind of talk. We’d listen to CB radio.”
They picked up trash, carpet, debris and many, many tires, he said.
“We always had something to do, or we’d clean up the shop once a week,” he said.
The intangible that Henning gained from Labette was something he needed.
“They did teach you self-restraint,” he said.
On the street, he would have been more likely to get into a fight; fighting at Labette could have meant prison.
“I did get that out of the boot camp. I did get more self-control than I normally would have,” Henning said.
It helped him that his mindset was to make progress and get out of Labette successfully, and that was an attitude that some of Labette’s inmates could not grasp.
“Ones that don’t really care one way or another, and they were usually the ones that got kicked out,” he said.
Henning stayed and showed the improvement expected. He had counseling and treatment and, when he came out last fall, those who knew him — including his counselor here — could see a change.
“She said there was a big difference in me,” he said. “She said when I got back I actually had goals.”
He was, he said, more at ease and not fighting the system.
“I do still think it was a joke, but it did help me personally because I went there wanting to change, where some people are just there f’ing around. They’re not going to change their ways,” Henning said.
Some of his fellow Labette inmates had family members who already had served or were serving time in prison, he said. Others knew that if they were kicked out they might be sent to prison, but, including jail time and Labette, their time remaining to be served would be relatively brief and they would not be required to have follow-up parole.
“You’ve served your time, you’re free; you’re back in the system. You don’t have to do anything. That’s the mentality that some of them have,” he said. “That’s what I think anyway.”
Henning’s goals were different.
“I plan on successfully graduating from the Drug Court program, then I’m going to move out of Kansas. Then I’m going to go get a job with my uncle, doing some kind of construction,” he said. He has perhaps two more months before the Drug Court program is completed, and graduation will be the following month.
He is moving beyond the anger that overcame him when his mother and the others died, and said that he and his sister sometimes get together and talk about the good times they had with her.
“One of my favorite memories is when me and my sister ... were young. I was probably six or something like that and my sister was four. Mom would put on her records and we would be jamming out,” Henning said. “None of us can sing and we really can’t dance, but we sure try. Little things like that just kind of bring me up when I’m feeling kind of down.”
He manages to resist when the draw of old, bad habits pops into his mind.
“I catch myself occasionally thinking about the old days when I used to get high,” he said. “I have those days when I want to.”
But he is working steadily now, and is grateful to the acquaintance at the local jail who put in a good word on his behalf to a company manager that she knew.
He still does not have health insurance, but now is utilizing the programs that he did not know were available before when he needed them. The treatments include antidepressants that give him the peace he used to find through using marijuana.
“It’s like the same effect, but I’m not high,” Henning explained. “It helps me to be more at ease, like I can actually rest. I can actually sit down and enjoy stuff.”
As an example of the changes he made, he talked about having to ride a bicycle to get to his court-related meetings because he does not have a car or pickup.
“I was mad I had to ride a bike. But a requirement is you have to have transportation. I used to be mad about that, but I started taking those antidepressants and I was happy..,” he said.
“That’s when I realized that the pills were helping and I’m actually helping myself. I’m not shooting myself in the foot any more. I’ve got a better outlook on my life and my future and what I want.”
And there was another epiphany that overcame Henning as he rode his bike along to an appointment.
“I realized it’s a beautiful day and I’m enjoying it.”
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Sounds like anything in life: you get out of something what you want to and it depends on the effort you're willing to make. I am a little disappointed at how uneducated this young man sounds. I don't know if high school standards have fallen that much since I graduated or it's all the pot he smoked. He'd get further if he had a better vocabulary.
February 25, 2009 at 1:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lightenup (anonymous) says...
Colter, I'm sorry for all of your losses - those were some pretty big hits!
But it's great that you're getting control of your life now. We each have the power to create the life that we want. Believe in yourself.
I wish you all the best.
February 25, 2009 at 2:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Maddening isn't it, madpoet? Multiply the tendency to speak entirely in slang with the local drop out rate, and you can see the future. The predominance of texting has also added to the lack of formal language. Perhaps I'll get blasted for my opinion here, but poor vocabulary and mechanics continue to be a problem with young people. Yes, I am well aware that this young man has had a number of harsh experiences through no fault of his own. However, poor choices have certainly added to the predicament. I must emphasize personal responsibility.
February 25, 2009 at 3:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lightenup (anonymous) says...
I guess I'm not seeing what y'all are seeing. "Indifferential?" So? I say give the guy a break.
He's taking personal responsibility for his life, getting straightened out. Isn't that the most important thing here?
He has the guts to bare his life here, to talk about mistakes he's made, and to talk about moving on, improving his life. I think that says something for his character.
February 25, 2009 at 4:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hogan77 (anonymous) says...
Too bad not every person that comes out of that place tries to change their lives. My ex husband spent time there, and it only made him worse of a criminal. He went from theft (main reason he went in there), to molesting children, stealing cars, kidnapping his child and raping his (ex) wife.
Guess Labette Correctional Conservation Camp isn't all that great after all, now is it? Good thing the place is closing down.
February 25, 2009 at 9 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
When it first opened, it was a strict boot camp, really disciplined. The staff were tough, most were former military staff. The program got the inmate's attention from the second they arrived at the gate and was very effective. Word spread among criminals that it was a tough program, few opted to consider it after learning from guys who had attended it that it was no cake walk. Like most all other correctional programs, it was tamed down, made less strict and aggressive after parents and lawyers complained it was too tough and degrading for their children and clients.
February 26, 2009 at 10:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I'm not trying to detract from the young man's efforts to move forward. He should be proud of himself for getting as far as he has. I'm just commenting that education isn't what it used to be and the students suffer for it. I wish him the best of luck.
February 26, 2009 at 11:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weltha (anonymous) says...
Way to go Colter and keep up the good work. Don't let these English and/or grammer critics get ya down. Just because you have trouble verbalizing does not make you dumb or uneducated. Maybe he was nervous in his interview. It should have never been brought up because it does "detract" from his story. We should be boosting him up to succeed not setting him up to fail. I'll get off my proverbial soap box now. Good luck Colter I'm rootin' for ya.
February 26, 2009 at 3:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
butterfly (anonymous) says...
Colter -
It sounds to me like you are a very strong young man. In every situation, all you can do is take the best of it as a gift, and learn from the rest. We all make mistakes. Some of us just make more public mistakes. And some of us have parents to bail us out when we make mistakes - you - are doing on your own as a very young man- what some adults will never be responsible enough to do.
Keep your chin up, keep looking forward, you really can make a new life for yourself. Believe it.
February 26, 2009 at 3:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LifeGoesOn (anonymous) says...
Create says " Maddening isn't it"
It's no more maddening than having a "adult" nit pick a young man over his grammer. I knew EXACTLY what he meant and so did everybody else, what damn difference does it make how he said it.
And BTW Create heres a couple of your posts from just the last few days
"Posted on February 26 at 10:43 a.m.
I am especially happy to hear that farmers and farmer wannabes who collect $$$ for not using their land
Posted on February 25 at 6:20 p.m.
Shoehorn, Isn't that what happens here? LOL"
Isn't the "$$$" or the "LOL" slang? or is it just your lack of formal language?
Get off your high horse.
February 26, 2009 at 5:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )