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Inmates maintain cemetery |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Friday, 13 August 2004 |
JAY LeBLANC , Gazette Staff Writer 08/11/2004
TAUNTON -- Work crews made up of inmates from the Bristol County House of Corrections are performing much-needed maintenance work at historic Mt. Pleasant Cemetery this week. And best of all, it won’t cost the city a thing, said Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson.
"It costs about $33,000 a year to house an inmate, and it’s always been my view that we ought to be giving the taxpayer a return on their investment as best we can," said Hodgson. "At a time when budgets are strained with the economy as it is now, this is a way that city officials can maintain a quality neighborhood and provide services they otherwise couldn’t afford."
Mayor Robert G. Nunes said he was happy to have work crews helping to clean Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, which opened on July 4, 1836 and serves as the final resting place for some of the city’s most prominent citizens, politicians, business leaders and military veterans. Thanks in large part to the efforts of the Old Colony Historical Society, the cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in December 2002.
"I support work crews -- they’ve saved the city of Taunton hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years," said Nunes. "I’m glad to see they’re back in Taunton and working on our cemeteries."
Shackled together into small groups and wearing orange jumpsuits, the inmates began the process of getting Mt. Pleasant Cemetery back in shape yesterday morning by cleaning sidewalks on Crocker Street. Hodgson said it will probably take the work crews about a week, maybe slightly longer, to complete the task.
"We want to clean up the sidewalk areas around the neighborhood, clean up the insides, get the lawns cut," Hodgson said. "The mayor has asked that we do this, so when we can bring our crews out here and improve the quality of life in the community, that’s a win-win for everyone."
While the city benefits by having its historic cemetery cleaned up free of charge, there are benefits for the inmates as well, Hodgson said. They get to leave the prison and enjoy the summer sunshine, and also build self-esteem through the positive reinforcement they receive as a result of the work they’re doing for the community.
"When they run into mayors and city councilors and other people in the community saying, ‘Thank you very much, you’re doing a great job,’ and they keep hearing that every day, it starts to re-program them," Hodgson said. "They begin to understand that if they do good things, they get good reinforcement, and if they continue to do that on the outside, they’ll get the same thing. That’s the whole idea."
Inmate Imani Minnis, 30, said he was happy to do work at the cemetery because of the reasons Hodgson cited and because he and his fellow inmates get credit for "good time" for participating the in clean-up.
"We get seven-and-a-half days ‘good time’ when we come out, and that shortens up the sentence," said Minnis, who is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence at the Bristol County House of Correction. "It also gives us a chance to get out of the jail every now and then and see some civilization. It keeps us sane, you know? And we get to help out the city. It’s good. It’s healthy."
http://www.tauntongazette.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12664724&BRD=1711&PAG=461&dept_id=24232&rfi=6 |
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Taphophilia?
taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)
ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"
DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries
Quote Repository
“Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other.” Francis Bacon
Shirtless and Sculpted
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