Vermont Inmates work crew restores historical property while serving time
October 5, 2012
(NECN: Jack Thurston, Waterford, Vt.) - The historic Gingue farm in Waterford, Vt. has been getting a facelift for several weeks, with new coats of paint, new windows, siding, and other improvements.
"We've always had compliments on how this place looks, and we want to keep it that way," explained farmer Paul Gingue.
The workers on Gingue's land may just be getting a new start too.
"We do want to be a part of the community even though we've made mistakes," said Shane Colford, a prison inmate.
Colford is serving time at the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury, following a burglary conviction. He and nine other men from around Vermont, all of whom are serving sentences in St. Johnsbury, are assigned to the farm as part of a prison work crew. The crews are nothing new in Vermont, but they've historically maintained mostly public land and spaces belonging to non-profits. Having a job site on private property is part of a new initiative. "I've been impressed at what they've done so far," Gingue said.
According to a press release from the Vt. Agriculture Agency, the effort, dubbed the Vt. Barn Painting Pilot Project, is a partnership between the Vt. Agriculture Agency, the Vt. Corrections Dept., The Preservation Trust of Vt., the Vt. Division for Historic Preservation, the State of Vt. Chief Marketing Officer, the non-profit training program Vt. Works for Women, and Allen Lumber. The paint brand Sherwin-Williams and a Vt. commercial real estate development firm, Pizzagalli Properties, LLC, are helping fund the project, the news release explained.
The theory behind the project is: better-looking farmland will send a message to visitors and locals alike that the state is clean, welcoming, and produces healthy, fresh food. The sponsors gave paint and the farmer bought other materials like lumber, but he didn't have to pay for labor, which has totaled hundreds of man hours already.
"I don't know how much it would cost," Gingue said. "I think it would scare me!"
Gingue admitted at first he wondered what it would be like to have convicts on his land for several weeks, but after learning they were low-level, non-violent offenders, he said he quickly warmed up to the idea.
For every day the inmates are on the job site, they get a day subtracted from their prison sentence. Many also hope to take away valuable job skills. Colford noted that supervisors stress teamwork, time management, and organization skills.
"It helps develop a good work ethic," he explained. "If you're working every day [upon completion of the prison sentence] and get into the habit of that, you won't be around certain people who are going to be a negative influence."
"They've taken something from the community by the crimes they've committed," added Alan Cormier, the superintendent of the Northeast Correctional Complex. "But they come to this program, come into the work camp, learn a skill, learn a trade, bring something to the community, and hopefully they will not come back to jail."
While repairs and paint won't necessarily undo damage done to crime victims, the participants in the barn project want their time on the farm to help them cultivate a second chance.
"And we hope this barn's around for a long time," Shane Colford said, smiling as he painted a window sill.
(NECN: Jack Thurston, Waterford, Vt.) - The historic Gingue farm in Waterford, Vt. has been getting a facelift for several weeks, with new coats of paint, new windows, siding, and other improvements.
"We've always had compliments on how this place looks, and we want to keep it that way," explained farmer Paul Gingue.
The workers on Gingue's land may just be getting a new start too.
"We do want to be a part of the community even though we've made mistakes," said Shane Colford, a prison inmate.
Colford is serving time at the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury, following a burglary conviction. He and nine other men from around Vermont, all of whom are serving sentences in St. Johnsbury, are assigned to the farm as part of a prison work crew. The crews are nothing new in Vermont, but they've historically maintained mostly public land and spaces belonging to non-profits. Having a job site on private property is part of a new initiative. "I've been impressed at what they've done so far," Gingue said.
According to a press release from the Vt. Agriculture Agency, the effort, dubbed the Vt. Barn Painting Pilot Project, is a partnership between the Vt. Agriculture Agency, the Vt. Corrections Dept., The Preservation Trust of Vt., the Vt. Division for Historic Preservation, the State of Vt. Chief Marketing Officer, the non-profit training program Vt. Works for Women, and Allen Lumber. The paint brand Sherwin-Williams and a Vt. commercial real estate development firm, Pizzagalli Properties, LLC, are helping fund the project, the news release explained.
The theory behind the project is: better-looking farmland will send a message to visitors and locals alike that the state is clean, welcoming, and produces healthy, fresh food. The sponsors gave paint and the farmer bought other materials like lumber, but he didn't have to pay for labor, which has totaled hundreds of man hours already.
"I don't know how much it would cost," Gingue said. "I think it would scare me!"
Gingue admitted at first he wondered what it would be like to have convicts on his land for several weeks, but after learning they were low-level, non-violent offenders, he said he quickly warmed up to the idea.
For every day the inmates are on the job site, they get a day subtracted from their prison sentence. Many also hope to take away valuable job skills. Colford noted that supervisors stress teamwork, time management, and organization skills.
"It helps develop a good work ethic," he explained. "If you're working every day [upon completion of the prison sentence] and get into the habit of that, you won't be around certain people who are going to be a negative influence."
"They've taken something from the community by the crimes they've committed," added Alan Cormier, the superintendent of the Northeast Correctional Complex. "But they come to this program, come into the work camp, learn a skill, learn a trade, bring something to the community, and hopefully they will not come back to jail."
While repairs and paint won't necessarily undo damage done to crime victims, the participants in the barn project want their time on the farm to help them cultivate a second chance.
"And we hope this barn's around for a long time," Shane Colford said, smiling as he painted a window sill.