The Detention Division is the largest in the Sheriff's Office, though its members mostly operate behind the scenes. But we had to honor some of them for the way they stepped up in January.
The Detention Center experienced numerous issues with food service in January, and 17 staff members went above and beyond to ensure inmates were properly fed.
On Jan. 13, 2022, no cook from the contracted food vendor arrived to cook the evening meal. The vendor, in fact, failed to provide a cook for three days in a row. That’s when numerous Detention staff members stepped in to help. Foremost among them were Francine Hill and Jerry Summers. Although they have different roles in Detention now, both of them used to be cooks. They stepped in and led meal preparation that first night and continued to assist in the days that followed.
Other Detention staff also helped prepare the meals, resulting in very few complaints from inmates during the unexpected change.
Even staff outside Detention pitched in. Corporal Kyle Rasche of the Lake Unit helped load and transport supplies from commercial food vendors.
The teamwork of these 17 members led to uninterrupted meal service for inmates and avoided potentially disastrous consequences. (Dissatisfaction with food has led to riots in other detention facilities across the nation.)
The Sheriff’s Office also has a new contracted food vendor.
Sheriff Akin presented all 17 Detention staff members who worked on the meals with Special Commendations on May 5.
Original source can be found here.
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