Sandy Stowell [02/17/2005]

To the editor:Carroll County Delegation and Commissioners:First of all, the Carroll County Jail is just that, a jail. It is not a prison, and should not be run as one. Not everyone who is arrested is guilty of a crime, yet the inhumane treatment has been allowed to continue unchecked.In response to the recent articles concerning the county budget, I hope the delegation isn't falling for the "snow job" that has been perpetrated on them again, and again, and again. There are several issues that come to mind.I do not believe that anyone would consider wrongful death, beatings, sexual attacks, or depriving someone of needed medical care to be part of frivolous lawsuits. The operations of this county are the direct cause of these lawsuits. Some of you may not be aware of the latest ones that were settled.Why was a building this large constructed? The entire building is underutilized.Require the top jail employees to come to work five days a week, eight hours a day, and work beside the rest of the employees.Regulate the county employees. Most have run amok, with little control over their workday. County vehicles are not meant to run personal errands.Require all county employees to answer to an investigative board.Require all employees to worknot stand around, work, not go for smoke breaks, work. There would be enough help.Stop the use of tax dollars to order employees to work on off hours, to show off for such things as the jail's grand opening.Require a forensic accounting of every dime of the allocated tax dollars. The work needs to be done by a reputable firm outside of this county.Require an accounting of the monies raised from the sale of hay, wood, vegetables and fruit. There is a formula to estimate the amount that would be raised by the area of land cultivated. This needs to include any land farmed, including land not owned by the county. Require a paid receipt from anyone to remove anything from county-controlled land.Require repairs to the building to be completed ASAP. This would help with the escalating bills to run the facility. This would include, but not be limited to, cracked foundations, cracked walls, moisture seepage, door alignment, roofing and overhang areas.Monitor theft from the facility.Require a report and printout of the census every week.Require all reports in writing.Do surprise inspections on a regular basis.Investigate all complaints from the public.Require a thorough educational and criminal background check of employees, both old and new hires.Require a college education for supervisory personnel with a background in criminal justice, sociology or psychology.Require psychological testing of employees to ensure suitability for this job.Require a higher level of education for any employee.Require medications and medical treatment to be given as medically ordered by a physician, no exceptions. There has been a nurse at the jail for nearly two years, yet there is still the problem of uneducated personnel dispensing narcotics and other prescription medications.The military has sent their abusers to prison, do the civilians get off scott-free?Does anyone wonder why there has not been any challengers to many positions in this county? What real professional would want to work in such a medieval, low-class environment? You might want to look into the backgrounds of these people. Remember, there are only two types of people in the legal professions: those who want to make a difference, and those who want power and control. It is easy to see which one we ended up with.Food for thought.