Congressman James Comer, who represents the state’s 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, took time out of his busy schedule to come Saturday, Feb. 22 to come and visit the Logan County Detention Center as well as stopping by Walnut Grove Farm for a tour and discussion of agriculture issues.
Rehabilitation programs were the main topic of discussion at the detention center with Logan County Jailer Phil Gregory and program director Sgt. Pam Ford.
“It was great having Congressman Comer come out to our facility and learn what we do,” said Gregory. “The Congressman spent over an hour here at the jail as we discussed rehabilitation and the effects these programs have on those incarcerated.”
Gregory said he took the Congressman on a tour of the jail and showed him how they were doing things at the jail.
“The Congressman went back to the classroom where Sgt. Ford talked to him in length about all the programs we offer here at the jail and how hopefully they will provide opportunities as well as tools those incarcerated can use once they return to society on the outside,” said Gregory.
One of the questions Gregory said the Congressman asked him was about bed capacity.
“I told him we were 162-bed facility and on that day we had 190 in the jail. He told me this was a problem across the state and country,” Gregory said adding, “He also asked me what the main charges were for those incarcerated at the detention center. I told him they were mostly drug-related.”
Gregory was very grateful Congressman Comer took the time on Saturday to come out and visit, showing he cares about what is going on in his district.
“It was a privilege for me to recently spend some time in Logan County to tour a successful local farm and see a jail that is offering innovative rehabilitation programs for its citizens. As a farmer, former Commissioner of Agriculture and leading advocate for the farming community in Congress, I enjoyed seeing an operation like Walnut Grove Farm that has done a great job of adapting to the modern economy. I was also glad to stop by the Logan County Jail to see the great work that Jailer Phil Gregory and his staff are doing to prepare inmates to enter the workforce and contribute to our economy,” Congressman James Comer said.