Officials working to modernize Greene jail
WAYNESBURG – John Kingston doesn’t see the Greene County jail as a place just to incarcerate criminals, but as an opportunity to educate inmates and send them back into the community better than when they came in.
The new warden, hired in September, is working to modernize the county facility along Rolling Meadows Road in Franklin Township to offer inmates more educational opportunities and healthier eating options.
He told members of Greene County Prison Board during their Thursday morning meeting that the staff is making structural and equipment upgrades that will benefit corrections officers and the inmates.
“I think it’s important for the citizens to understand the system we’re trying to build, that it’s rehabilitative, not punitive,” Kingston said. “That should be our common goal. As a community, if we can help people who are struggling … we’re duty-bound to do that.”
The improvements to the housing units will include refurbishing the degraded concrete floors and purchasing new lounge furniture in the common areas. Kingston also is looking into buying e-readers to help inmates study for their general equivalency degree or improve their reading levels, along with new exercise equipment in the recreation yard.
“You don’t want a place where the inmates are just playing cards,” Kingston said. “You want a space conducive for learning.”
He said the equipment purchases would be paid for using money from the Inmate General Welfare Fund account that collects fines, fees and dues from prisoners.
“These are the types of things we want to put in there to help them,” Kingston said. “We have to help them develop.”
Other facility upgrades include an officer’s station in H-unit, a dormitory style section of the jail that houses about 20 inmates who are serving county sentences. The office would allow corrections officers a place to work during evening and overnight shifts to put them closer to those inmates.
That work would be performed in-house, he said, and the building material costs would come from the jail’s general budget.
“That goes a long way when you need to be there to help the inmates or they need something,” Kingston said.
The jail began housing prisoners in 1980 and has expanded over the years, including construction of a new kitchen in 2012. Kingston praised the food service at the jail but said other changes could include offering healthier meal options with non-processed food.
Meanwhile, the jail staff has recently reinstated the women’s work-release program, which Kingston said will perform weekly or bi-monthly service projects. Two female inmates on the crew spent part of Thursday helping at the Humane Society of Greene County, caring for the animals and cleaning the kennels, Kingston said.