WEST BARNSTABLE – Inmates from the Barnstable County House of Correction recently performed outside maintenance and repair work to the West Barnstable Fire Station.
New trim was installed in combination with weathered shingles on the rest of the building’s exterior.
The five-man inmate crew replaced rotted, pine molding on the garage-size vehicle doors, the station’s corner trim, and many of its windows.
An inmate crew last repainted at the West Barnstable station about ten years ago and has tackled numerous other projects in the village in the meantime. The inmate crews have been averaging almost half a million dollars in donated inmate labor over the last several years and nearly as much in the decade and a half prior to that.
“Cape Cod’s municipal and non-profit agencies get some relief on capital and maintenance budgets,” said Sheriff Jim Cummings, “and the inmates come away with a heightened work ethic, some basic construction skills, and something to feel good about.”
Barnstable County inmate Anthony Martin (left) and co-working inmate get an exact measurement before cutting outside trim-work used at the fire station on Route 149 in West Barnstable.
Measurement accomplished, Martin now checks how he’ll set the power saw to ensure just the right fit: snug but not too tight. The siding has a durable, vinyl-like composition, yet the more natural look and feel of wood. Best of all, once mounted little or no repainting is required.
Inmate Germain Jackson is driving home screws on the front-side vehicle-door molding.
