N.C. Department of
Correction--Correction News--August 1998
Four DAPP
veterans say farewell in June
George
Pettigrew
Charlotte – George Pettigrew
started his correction career working with alcoholics and their
families.
 |
This former pastor-turned-probation
officer has had a full career, from watching a man
running around his house with a knife who was chasing a
bear in his hallucinations to being threatened himself by
an offender with a fireplace poker. Co-workers reflected on Pettigrew's time with the Division of Adult Probation and
Parole at a June 19th luncheon.
Division Director Robert Guy said he
had never seen Pettigrew get upset. "He was a team
player, loyal and compassionate," Guy said before
presenting him with the Governor's
Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
JDM Evelyn Wooten said Pettigrew gave
supervisors room to grow and room to disagree. "He
gave me the freedom to do my job and make decisions. I
feel very fortunate to have worked with him."
|
Others called Pettigrew decisive, dependable,
gentle, sincere and compassionate.
Pettigrew left his position as an assistant
Judicial IV chief on June 30th, after working 32 years for the
Division of Adult Probation and Parole. u
Larry
Harris
Raleigh — Larry Harris was the
first and only African-American branch manager for the Division
of Adult Probation and Parole. He was honored June 30 at a
Raleigh luncheon for his 29 years of service to the State of
North Carolina.
 |
Retired North Central Area Program
Supervisor Louis Powell said Larry Harris did a lot of
trailblazing, led by the trailblazer, Frank Bright,
former assistant secretary of the Department of
Correction. Bright knew Harris
before he came to corrections when Harris was working for
the Boys Scouts’ Occeneechee Council in Durham.
Bright had just been involved in a near-fatal accident,
and Harris began visiting him daily. During that time
Bright began to sense that Harris not only wanted to make
a difference, but that he could make a difference. He
encouraged Harris to come to DAPP.
"He came in with ideas and
suggestions, not to accept the status quo," Bright
said. "Larry was not a quitter, not a runner. He was
in it for the long haul."
Since 1995, Harris was the assistant
director of Program and Support Services, working with
the overall goals and objectives of the Community
Corrections Strategy for North Carolina.
|
Harris began working in 1969 as a state
probation officer. He served in several positions including an
assistant branch manager in Durham and Charlotte, a branch
manager in Raleigh, administrator of Intensive Supervision and
Electronic House Arrest, and as chief of Program Services.
Harris served on many boards and councils. From
1984-86, Harris served on the Region V Board of the American
Probation and Parole Association which covered four states and
Washington D.C.
"Mr. Harris is a long-standing and true
career professional in the Division of Adult Probation and
Parole," Deputy Secretary Theodis Beck said. "He has
served this agency with distinction." u
Evelyn
Wooten
Research Triangle Park — The
tributes to Evelyn Wooten were heartfelt and touching. A box of
tissue sat in front of Evelyn Wooten throughout the June 26th
farewell luncheon, but she smiled throughout the many tributes.
 |
"Evelyn Wooten is one of my most
favorite people in Probation and Parole," said
Correction Secretary Mack Jarvis who worked with her
through the years on several committees. "She
epitomizes good public service. She'll be
a tremendous loss not only to the Department of
Correction, but to the State of North Carolina."
Jarvis presented Wooten with the Order of the Long Leaf
Pine. Wooten started working for
the North Carolina Probation Commission in 1969 as a
probation and parole officer in Mecklenburg County.
Retired DAPP Director George Barnes said, "Everyone
was real excited when I hired Evelyn. I don't know anyone who has brought so much to the
department as she has."
|
George Pettigrew was one of her supervisors. At
the luncheon, Pettigrew said, "I deeply appreciate this dear
lady. When I first came to Charlotte, she said, "I'll
help you all I can." When
anything needed to be done, she always volunteered and gave it
120 percent."
In 1975, Wooten was promoted to Unit
Supervisor. She worked with people like Union County Intensive
Officer Bill Carpenter who said, "She is the reason I made a
career of this," and then he quipped, "and I forgive
you for this." Carpenter continued, saying that Charlotte
was a very difficult place to work, but Wooten refused to play
into the stress. He said she showed patience, tolerance and
positive thinking.
Wooten implemented and supervised many
innovative programs and taught at the Criminal Justice Academy in
Salemburg. She was given the 1984 Executive Cabinet Award for
Management Excellence. Ten years later, and following several
promotions, Wooten became the assistant Judicial Division II
chief.
DAPP Director Robert Lee Guy said, "It's
been remarkable and unbelievable what she's done for
us. We cannot replace her professionally or personally in this
agency."
That sentiment was echoed by training
instructor, Tony Brown, who told Wooten, "You're
leaving a big void in our family." u
Charles
White
Asheville — After 33 years working
for the Division of Adult Probation and Parole, assistant
Judicial IV chief Charles White said farewell in June.
 |
An Avery County native, White said
during his career in probation and parole he saw a major
shift from strict enforcement to treatment, and that he
never looked back. "The
mission and pride associated with being a probation
officer, along with new challenges as varied as the
offenders coming and going in the caseload, combined to
hold my interest and loyalty to the work," White
said. "I can honestly say I always looked forward to
going to work."
Four years after graduating from
Western Carolina University in 1961, and after serving
two years with the U.S. Army Twenty-Fifth Infantry
Division, White became a probation officer assigned to
Buncombe County.
|
In 1977, he earned his masters of Public
Administration from N.C. State University.
"I enjoyed the opportunity to have been a
part of managing the greatest expansions and change in the
history of community-based corrections in the state," White
said. Despite his many promotions into management, White always
considered himself a probation and parole officer.
"Charles exhibited, throughout his career,
a keen sense of what it is probation and parole officers should
be about," Judicial Division Manager Roger Haynie said.
"Always mindful of the importance of public safety, Charles
had the unique ability to manage that concern as well as assist
the offender through the rehabilitation process. Charles White
leaves behind a legacy of character and professionalism. He never
forgot our agency’s mission and encouraged all employees to
eagerly embrace our goals." u
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