By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Kosciusko County Work Release is working on a change in “culture.”

At its meeting on Wednesday, April 14, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Merit Board heard an update on the program from its Director Heather Desenberg.

Sheriff Kyle Dukes asked Desenberg to speak in part on “changing the culture out at work release.”

“The culture I’d like to have is a little less, I don’t want to say strict, but a little more the transition,” she said. “We’re making it more lifelike.”

One of the sheriff’s department employees Nick Shaw has organized football for the program’s participants on Sundays.

“He goes out, clocks out, so he’s doing this on his own time, to get them outside to get them exercising,” she said.

There are currently 67 people in work release, with Dukes saying back at the board’s February meeting that he hopes to have at least 95 people in the program at one time.

Desenberg is also working on getting program participants to acquire career and not just job skills.

“Before we were just doing jobs just jobs,” she said. “I kind of went through a lot of their backgrounds to find out what their skilled trade was and so we have a lot of CNC guys, we have a lot of welders … and we’re trying to place people in those positions so that they have a career.”

Participants have had the opportunity to take finance and men’s parenting classes. Work release is also partnering with Fellowship Missions for a mentorship program.

In response to a question from Board Member Gabe Douglas, Desenberg said the county court system has been more willing to get people into work release as part of their sentence.

“We’re trying to … look more into each person rather than, oh you had that resisting law enforcement,” she said. “Each person needs to be looked at individually.”

JCAP

The board also heard an update from Kosciusko County Jail Chemical Addiction Program Coordinator Courtney Jenkins.

She said there are eight men in the program right now. They just finished a test for a ServSafe food handling class through Kosciusko County – Purdue Extension.

“Every one of our gentlemen scored over 90% and we had two that scored 100, which is the first time (Purdue Extension’s Jaclyn Franks) has had anyone score 100% on the test … the community included,” said Jenkins. “They will be taking the manager’s course for that beginning next week.”

She said women’s JCAP might start up again in July.

In other business, the board:

• Heard from Deputy Charlene Johnson. She’s retiring April 30. She thanked the board for what they do for officers.

• Heard from Dukes that Sgt. Travis Shively is putting on a scenario-based field training day for officers on Saturday.
• Heard from Jail Commander 1st Sgt. Shane Coney there were 242 people in the jail currently.
• Heard from Capt. Travis Marsh officers are doing extra school bus stop arm patrols right now.
• Heard from Sgt. Mike Mulligan that he and First Sgt. Chris McKeand went to Oklahoma City, Okla., for a class regarding downloading diagnostic data from tractor-trailers. “As far as I know Chris and I are the only two law enforcement officers in any surrounding county, if not more of northern Indiana, that are stepping into this venture,” said Mulligan.