NEWS
Sheriff's Correctional Officers seek
community support for fellow officer
Public Safety Reporter
11/22/2007
By Paula M. Felipe
A battle against cancer is being fought not only
by the patient, but by her friends as well.
Correctional Officer Deborah White, 38, was born
and raised in Oroville and has worked for the
Butte County Sheriff's Office for the last 16
years. In August, she was diagnosed with "Stage
4" ovarian cancer.
Sergeant Daniel Young, his wife Janice, along
with their fellow correctional officer, Bonnie
Upton have formed a committee to organize fund
raising events to help their White with the
escalating medical costs and to repair the
leaking roof at her residence.
"Deborah had wanted to repair her roof before
she became ill. And now we want to fix her roof
before the rains come," Sgt. Young explained.
The Correctional Officers Association with the
help of Endeavor Homes, NorCal Waste, and
Connelly Roofing are going to donate materials
for her roof.
"We are going to tear down the old roof on
Monday. We don't know what we will find yet -
there could be dry-rot under the rafters. We
hope to get it all done next week before the
rain," Sgt. Young added.
The committee also wants the public to know they
are planning future fund raisers, such as a
spaghetti feed after the first of the year.
Sgt. Young explained how White first found out
she had cancer.
"It began with a dog bite on her finger and it
wasn't healing, and swollen," he said. "She went
to the doctor and after some tests, the doctor
informed her she had advanced ovarian cancer."
"Deb has lived with severe arthritis and always
has aches and pains, so she was thinking her
arthritis was causing her more pain and didn't
detect the early symptoms of the cancer," he
said.
On August 1, he was told she had cancerous
tumors on her ovaries and was sent to UC Davis.
"They had metastasized and she had stage four
cancer that had spread to her diaphragm," he
said.
After six hours of surgery, the tumors were
removed along with a portion of her diaphragm.
"Deb's sister is a nurse who insisted she have
additional tests, so she did and found out she
had elevated levels of CA 127, which is a type
of protein that indicates the presence of
cancer," he said.
An extensive program of chemotherapy followed.
"She is about halfway through her chemotherapy.
She has good days and bad days. The chemo is a
process of pumping chemicals like poisons
designed to kill cancer cells and makes her
extremely ill with nausea and aches and pains,"
he said.
"Deb is extremely dedicated and hardworking,"
Janice Young said. "And, she is very funny,
upbeat, and firm and fair with the inmates. She
is a considered a leader by her co-workers and
she loved her job working as a Correctional
Officer and has a passion for community service
and helping people," she said.
Deborah was named the Correctional Officer of
the Year a couple of years ago.
Correctional officers have challenging jobs
working inside of the Butte County Jail.
"She (Deborah) also held various jobs that
officers hold, such as an Officer-in-Charge when
she filled in when the Sergeant was not
available," Sgt. Young said.
"Correctional Officers are responsible for
maintaining the health and welfare of the
inmates who have been remanded into the custody
of the Sheriff for their own protection and
protection of society," he explained.
Correctional Officers make sure the inmates are
fed, clothed, and get medical treatment. "We
make sure they have the essentials for life,
including having laundry done, providing a clean
environment and conducting welfare checks," he
said. The officers are also involved with other
programs for the inmates, he added.
As a teen, Deborah worked as a newspaper carrier
for the Oroville Mercury-Register and went on to
work at the Boss Burger before she became
employed with the Sheriff's Office.
Deborah is a 1986 graduate of Oroville High
School.
Her parents are Joyce and Ed White, who are
longtime Oroville residents.
Deborah has been off work since August 1, and is
now on disability.
"She continued to work in the jail right up
until the time she had to have surgery," Sgt.
Young said.
Both the Butte County Deputy Sheriff's
Association and Butte County Correctional
Officers Association are contributing donations
to help with her medical bills.
If anyone wishes to help, donations may be sent
to: The White Fund, c/o Officer Janice Young,
Butte County Sheriff's Office, 33 County Center
Drive, Oroville, CA 95965. Make checks payable
to "The White Fund."
For more information on how to help, call:
530-538-9789
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