Bob-bi-lu
05-28-2005, 11:19 AM
Just and FYI...the men at CMC (East Facility) will be on lockdown today from 9:30am - 2:30pm because the facility is having a memorial in rememberance of the CO that died earlier this week.
***Visiting will still be running for everyone except A Quad, however the men that are not receiving a visit will be placed on lockdown until 2:30pm.
Here's the article of the officer that died.
Diver who died Monday is remembered as 'a man's man'
Milton Ratzlaff, who supervised 900 inmates at the California Men's Colony, was helping a friend when he died; the cause of death is unknown, and no memorial service has been scheduled
By Sarah Linn
The Tribune
Milton Ratzlaff was a dedicated, generous man who died doing one more favor for a friend, said his friends and fellow officers at the California Men's Colony on Tuesday.
Ratzlaff, 49, died Monday morning while scuba diving off the northern shore of Nacimiento Lake. The Atascadero man had been surveying the site in Bee Rock Cove to prepare for salvaging a friend's boat that had sunk on Sunday, said his co-worker, Officer Eric Ramos.
"The guy had the biggest heart in the world," said Ramos, who knew Ratzlaff for about five years. "He would help anybody, no matter whoever it was."
Friends were unsure with whom Ratzlaff had been diving when he died.
Ratzlaff, who went alternatively by "Milt" or "Ratz," was a program lieutenant in charge of one of the CMC's housing units, spokeswoman Lt. Shelly Thompson said. He supervised about 900 inmates and a staff that includes one sergeant and about 16 officers.
Ratzlaff's father, Dick, was one of the first corrections officers to work at Sierra Conservation Center, a prison facility in Jamestown that teaches inmates to fight fires, when it opened in 1965, said Mike "Cujo" Parsons, the law librarian there. His son followed suit as a sergeant in the early 1980s.
Parsons, who was a prison guard at the time, often served the first shift with Milton Ratzlaff, he said. The two would get off work at 8 a.m., then spend the day fishing for black bass, hunting deer and riding motorcycles down mountain roads, Parsons said.
Parsons called Milton Ratzlaff "a man's man" with a twisted sense of humor.
"Milt was kind of a Tasmanian devil in a way," he said. "He had a lot of energy and was always the first of the staff to go deal with a problem."
Starting in 1986, Ratzlaff worked at CMC for four years before returning to Sierra. He came back to the state prison in San Luis Obispo in 1991, Thompson said.
CMC officers flew their American flag at half-staff Tuesday to honor Ratzlaff, said Sgt. Butch Steeb, who knew "Ratz" for more than 20 years.
No memorial service has been scheduled, though the prison has volunteers to provide an honor guard and uniformed officers, Thompson said. Ratzlaff's wife, Carol, could not be reached Tuesday.
The Atascadero man had been in the water for about a half-hour when he surfaced just before 11:40 a.m. Monday, according to sheriff's Sgt. Rick Neufeld.
Ratzlaff signaled to his diving partner that he was in distress, Neufeld said. The partner pulled the 49-year-old man aboard the boat using a safety rope attached to Ratzlaff's waist, the coroner's detective said.
Ratzlaff's cause of death remains unknown. Neufeld said an autopsy was scheduled for today.
Steeb said his friend was a "master diver" who loved the water and always triple-checked his diving equipment.
"I would be real surprised that this (incident) would be due to an error on his part," Steeb said.
Link to Article: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispotribune/living/community/11733904.htm
***Visiting will still be running for everyone except A Quad, however the men that are not receiving a visit will be placed on lockdown until 2:30pm.
Here's the article of the officer that died.
Diver who died Monday is remembered as 'a man's man'
Milton Ratzlaff, who supervised 900 inmates at the California Men's Colony, was helping a friend when he died; the cause of death is unknown, and no memorial service has been scheduled
By Sarah Linn
The Tribune
Milton Ratzlaff was a dedicated, generous man who died doing one more favor for a friend, said his friends and fellow officers at the California Men's Colony on Tuesday.
Ratzlaff, 49, died Monday morning while scuba diving off the northern shore of Nacimiento Lake. The Atascadero man had been surveying the site in Bee Rock Cove to prepare for salvaging a friend's boat that had sunk on Sunday, said his co-worker, Officer Eric Ramos.
"The guy had the biggest heart in the world," said Ramos, who knew Ratzlaff for about five years. "He would help anybody, no matter whoever it was."
Friends were unsure with whom Ratzlaff had been diving when he died.
Ratzlaff, who went alternatively by "Milt" or "Ratz," was a program lieutenant in charge of one of the CMC's housing units, spokeswoman Lt. Shelly Thompson said. He supervised about 900 inmates and a staff that includes one sergeant and about 16 officers.
Ratzlaff's father, Dick, was one of the first corrections officers to work at Sierra Conservation Center, a prison facility in Jamestown that teaches inmates to fight fires, when it opened in 1965, said Mike "Cujo" Parsons, the law librarian there. His son followed suit as a sergeant in the early 1980s.
Parsons, who was a prison guard at the time, often served the first shift with Milton Ratzlaff, he said. The two would get off work at 8 a.m., then spend the day fishing for black bass, hunting deer and riding motorcycles down mountain roads, Parsons said.
Parsons called Milton Ratzlaff "a man's man" with a twisted sense of humor.
"Milt was kind of a Tasmanian devil in a way," he said. "He had a lot of energy and was always the first of the staff to go deal with a problem."
Starting in 1986, Ratzlaff worked at CMC for four years before returning to Sierra. He came back to the state prison in San Luis Obispo in 1991, Thompson said.
CMC officers flew their American flag at half-staff Tuesday to honor Ratzlaff, said Sgt. Butch Steeb, who knew "Ratz" for more than 20 years.
No memorial service has been scheduled, though the prison has volunteers to provide an honor guard and uniformed officers, Thompson said. Ratzlaff's wife, Carol, could not be reached Tuesday.
The Atascadero man had been in the water for about a half-hour when he surfaced just before 11:40 a.m. Monday, according to sheriff's Sgt. Rick Neufeld.
Ratzlaff signaled to his diving partner that he was in distress, Neufeld said. The partner pulled the 49-year-old man aboard the boat using a safety rope attached to Ratzlaff's waist, the coroner's detective said.
Ratzlaff's cause of death remains unknown. Neufeld said an autopsy was scheduled for today.
Steeb said his friend was a "master diver" who loved the water and always triple-checked his diving equipment.
"I would be real surprised that this (incident) would be due to an error on his part," Steeb said.
Link to Article: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispotribune/living/community/11733904.htm