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NATCHEZ — The Adams County Board of Supervisors urged Robbie Dollar, county road department manager, to try to tap into inmate help like the City of Natchez has done.

Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson said last week the city is getting the help of 14 state inmates who are working 8 hours a day in the city doing jobs like mowing and trimming and trash pick up.

“What used to be a work crew of 10, during COVID gradually went down to a work crew of zero. We were able to get a few back, but it was never the same,” Gibson said last week. “In fact, the most we have gotten is two state inmates a day and that was only part time. We were having to take them back just a few hours after we picked them up.”

Gibson said thanks to the intervention of Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and his staff and Concordia Parish Sheriff David Hedrick, the inmate work crew program is back up to full speed.

“Concordia Parish Sheriff David Hedrick reached out to his friend, Burl Caine, director of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, and we were able to very quickly get a new crew assigned solely to Natchez,” Gibson said.

Caine was at one time warden at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

The new work crew began work today in Natchez.

“They are going to assist our public works department and we are going to see a change in Natchez quickly,” he said.

In addition, Gibson said he and Workforce Development Director Tuwanna Williams are working with Magnolia Corrections on a project to develop skills for the inmates that will lead to job opportunities when they are released.

Gibson said the program will be called Natchez Operation Fresh Start.

“It has always bothered me to see so many who face a dead end. Instead of being state inmates working with no future in sight, they will be on a work development program.”

Natchez workforce development, through cooperation with Copiah-Lincoln Community College, is offering training in plumbing and electrical services, heavy machinery operations and commercial truck driving.

“Soon we will be able to say we are doing workforce development for our inmates, too,” Gibson said. “Within two years, we will start seeing these inmates released and thanks to a stipend our grant provides, they will have money in the bank, work experience, a resume and references and we will be the first city in the state to do this.”

The inmates assigned to work in Natchez are backed at the Woodville correctional facility. Those inmates have been screened and determined by the Mississippi Department of Corrections to be suitable as trusties who are good fits for work assignments, Gibson said.

District 5 Supervisor Warren Gaines urged Dollar to explore seeking inmate help for the county’s needs, particularly in the area of picking up litter in the county.