Inmates build sheds for Bourne Public Library

Barnstable County Sheriff’s inmate George Sullivan crouches on the roof of a brand new shed as he scrapes old paint from an existing, somewhat larger one.  One structure is being built and the other restored; they stand alongside each other outside the Jonathan Bourne Public Library.

Sullivan is joined here (same job) by inmate Matthew Donoghue.  The supervised, five-inmate crew did all the labor on a job undertaken by Friends of the Bourne Public Library, a fundraising, non-profit that supports the work and mission of library trustees.  “These inmate crews are a godsend to non-profits on Cape Cod,” says Friends treasurer Frances Bogden.

Inmate Albert Zondiors is busy repainting the inside of the larger, reconditioned shed.  It will store books the Friends sell from time to time to raise funds.  The new, smaller shed will hold maintenance equipment used by library custodians and groundskeepers.  Concludes Bogden: “This is really the only way we would have been able to afford this project.  It’s wonderful.”  For Zondiors, meanwhile, it was his second day on outside-crew assignment.  Twenty-three inmates are in that status currently, or about 7% of the inmate population. 

A fourth, unidentified inmate prepares for some serious Skilsaw-ing with a DeWalt, though it could just have easily been a Bosch, a Kawasaki, a Makita, or some other brand.  All get the job done.  Sheriff Jim Cummings said he was happy to undertake yet another assignment for the Cape’s municipal and non-profit organizations.  “Perhaps,” he suggested, “this makes us friends of the Friends of the Bourne Public Library.”
Media release and photos furnished by Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office



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