A five-man inmate crew dispatched by county Sheriff Jim Cummings recently painted interior walls at the Harwich Fire Department, a job that will save Harwich property taxpayers about $5,250 in donated labor. The inmates painted an apparatus bay large enough to hold six emergency vehicles; a job Fire Chief Norman Clarke Jr. says would otherwise require approval of a town meeting article.
“We truly appreciate the help,” says Clarke, who lists three beneficiaries: “Our department gets a long-needed job accomplished, taxpayers save money, and inmates get to feel good about at least part of their incarceration.” Clarke is no stranger to the BCSO’s inmate labor program; three or four years ago another crew painted most of the remaining office and workspace inside fire headquarters.