By MEGHAN V. MALLOY
Kennebec Journal
KENNEBEC, Maine — Slushy streets. Sliding cars. Another foot of snow.
School-age children weren’t the only happy ones to see more snow on Wednesday.
David Nixon said he also woke up happy.
“I thought, ‘Yes! There’s going to be work for us,’ ” Nixon, of Augusta, said.
Nixon -- an inmate in the Kennebec County jail -- works in the jail’s community service program, which gives low-risk inmates the opportunity to get outside and work time off their sentences.
Nixon has been in jail since Dec. 27, serving a 90-day sentence for second offense drunken driving.
He knew from the get-go Wednesday he didn’t want to sit in the cell block all day.
“I knew someone who was in the community program and they told me, ‘You could work some time off,’ ” Nixon said. “He told me to put my paperwork in right away.”
“It certainly helps the time go by faster,” said Ronald Mullins, also of Augusta, another community service program participant. Mullins, who is serving a 171-day sentence for violating his probation, has been behind bars since Dec. 10.
The program allows minimum- and medium-security inmates to leave jail confines during the day to perform manual tasks such as clearing sidewalks of snow or working in the jail’s community garden.
Nixon said he also has been to Winslow and Waterville, washing fire trucks and school buses.
Sixteen hours of work takes one day off of an inmate’s sentence.
“It’s very good for our inmates,” assistant jail administrator Lt. Marsha Alexander said. “They’re outside being productive.
They get exercise and fresh air. And, of course, it’s great for our communities.”
Female inmates also can join the program; Alexander said women only work in the summer, when the female population is higher.
Alexander said inmates work “roughly 40 hours a week” for several area nonprofit organizations.
Inmates can request to join the community service programs if he or she:
• is not a sex offender;
• agrees to undergo a physical and mental examination, and
• does not have any pending charges, fines or warrants in their name.
They also cannot be incarcerated on a domestic violence charge at the time of their application, Alexander said. If they are struggling with alcohol or drug abuse, they must meet with a counselor.
Mullins said the community program is a “win-win situation” for jail inmates and the general public.
“We get to be productive, and the community gets some work done for them,” Mullins said. “It’s very beneficial for both of us.”
“And sometimes we don’t have to eat the jail food,” Nixon added, smiling.
Nixon said he believes the public appreciates the work accomplished by the jail’s community service program.
“You know, I like to think people see us working and think, ‘Good, my tax dollars are at work here,’ ” he said with a laugh.
Copyright Kennebec Journal 2008