Head Of Embattled Lincoln Hills Takes Demotion

The head of the embattled Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake juvenile institutions will return to a job she used to have there. The state Corrections Department says Wendy Peterson will end her time as superintendent of the Lincoln County institutions on Sunday — and she’ll again serve as their education director. Peterson told state juvenile corrections chief John Paquin she wanted to spend more time with her family — and Paquin and other officials praised her for making positive changes to improve safety and security at Lincoln Hills. But in July, Federal Judge James Peterson said Wendy Peterson and security director Brian Gustke didn’t have the experience to turn around what the judge called “a facility that is failing like Lincoln Hills.” A federal investigation continues into alleged inmate abuses at Lincoln Hills.