Associated Press Published

W.Va. Park Uses Inmates to Fill Jobs

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Kanawha County parks officials have made up for a shortage of summer workers at Coonskin Park by using prison inmates.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports Parks Director Jeff Hutchinson told members of the Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission that 11 inmates from the Charleston Correctional Center began work at the park this week.

The inmates are cutting grass, trimming weeds, painting and doing maintenance. Hutchinson says all the inmates are non-violent offenders in the process of being released on parole.

Hutchinson made arrangements with the state Department of Corrections to provide part-time labor in the park after struggling with an ongoing problem getting and keeping workers. Inmates supply the work for free, in exchange for lunch.