North Carolina Department of Correction news release

Inmates Help To Prepare For Gov. Hunt's Inauguration

January 10, 1997

Raleigh - Inmates are helping prepare for Saturday's inauguration ceremonies of Gov. Jim Hunt and Council of State members.

In keeping with Gov. Jim Hunt's commitment to put every able-bodied prisoner to work, inmates are helping build and install the inaugural platform, setting up chairs and doing landscape work at the Needham B. Broughton High School, site of the 1997 Inauguration. Following the inaugural parade through downtown Raleigh, inmates will pick up trash.

"I want to continue putting prisoners to work and am glad to have this group helping with the inaugural preparations," Gov. Hunt said. "These inmates are performing a valuable service to their community, doing time-consuming and ofttimes messy jobs while saving taxpayer money."

This week at Broughton High School, inmates planted new shrubbery, raked leaves, placed pine straw around the inaugural platform and other school-yard areas, swept and edged sidewalks and patched holes on weekends and after school hours.

The inmates from Wake Correctional Center who are helping with the inaugural preparations work year-round with the N.C. Department of Administration, landscaping at the Capitol, the Governor's Mansion and state government complex. During the year, they also move office furniture and work in various maintenance jobs for state government. More than a dozen inmates are supervised by trained DOA staff. The selected inmates have proven themselves to be reliable, hard workers.

"The inmates have done an excellent job sprucing up Broughton High School," Correction Secretary Franklin Freeman said. "Their assistance makes this inauguration ever more meaningful, showing that this Governor puts his promises into action."

-pmc-