Operation Back Roads Bagged kicked off Tuesday, April 16, 2019 in Yancey County with convicted misdemeanor inmates housed at the Yancey County Sheriff Office Detention Center picking up trash along the smaller secondary roads. These would be roads other than the county’s primary arteries of US Hwy 19E, 19W, 80, and 197 North and South.
County Manager Lynn Austin, Chief Deputy Shane Hilliard, and Jail Administrator Mark Geouge have coordinated together on this effort. “The need is there and these misdemeanor inmates are available to help supplement our citizen’s efforts in the Adopt-A-Highway Program and the loss of state prison inmates” said County Manager Lynn Austin.
The inmates started picking up today on randomly selected roads and will work as weather permits and the need for the inmates on other County projects allows. One day they may pick up on Little Creek and the next time out they may be on Cattail, Seven Mile, or Arbuckle.
Chief Deputy Hilliard added “when the state decided to stop their program in 2017, they began working with Contractors to pick up the main highways and primary roads, but that left the majority of our county’s smaller secondary roads unattended. We hope Operation Bagged will fill in for those losses”.
The Inmates chosen for this work crew, even though convicted on misdemeanors at this time, receive a thorough background check for past violent or physically abusive behavior that would make them ineligible for this work privilege.
Yancey County Sheriff’s Office Jail Administrator Mark Geouge explained that “the State now houses manageable convicted misdemeanor inmates in the local County Jails under the State Misdemeanant Confinement Program (SMCP). Not all Counties choose to participate in the SMCP so we will house not only Yancey County inmates but inmates for other counties in the state as well.”
As you travel the roads in your communities please be vigilant and safely navigate the areas where these crews and the Detention Officers supervising their efforts are bagging the trash.
