Whitley jail inmates work to refurbish Corbin football stadium

Clean stone bleachers.

Bright fences that appear brand new.

And goal posts that shine with a fresh coat of red and white paint.

Fans and players will notice a big difference when they walk into Campbell Field for the first time when high school football season opens Aug. 17 in Corbin. And it’s all thanks to inmates at the Whitley County Detention Center.

A jail work release detail will be spending up to three weeks totally refurbishing the stadium this summer. They are already a long way toward finishing the project.

Whitley County Jailer Ken Mobley said the effort is exactly the kind of thing he envisioned when he first started the work release program shortly after becoming Jailer in 2005.

"I think it’s a good project for the community and I’m glad the inmates can help. Quite frankly, they are glad they can help too," Mobley said. "They’d rather be out here helping than sitting in a jail, so it’s good for everybody. It gives them something constructive to do."

Mobley said prisoners with the work release program spent many hours last year doing similar work at Finley-Legion Field at Williamsburg High School. The results were startling.

"I saw what they did at Williamsburg’s stadium and was just totally amazed," said Ron Bowling, a director with the Redhound Varsity Club – a non-profit organization created to assist varsity athletic programs at Corbin High School. He is also a member of the committee to plan the Cumberland Falls Pigskin Classic, a four-team bowl game that will take place this year on Aug. 25.

"Budgets are tight and resources are scarce. If you were working a crew of men to do this right now, it would costs $80 or $90 an hour in wages. It would be cost prohibitive. I’ve seen what these guys can do and I’m a big fan of the work release program."

Mobley said the work-release program uses only low-risk, non-violent state inmates who have been convicted of certain felony offenses. Six inmates were at Campbell Field last week to paint fences and pressure wash the stadium bleachers. Inmates also removed barbed wire from atop the fence surrounding the field to make it more inviting.

Community service projects like roadside litter abatement, refurbishing local athletic facilities and renovation of the Engineer Street Bridge in Corbin also have a rehabilitative effect on inmates, Mobley contends.

"It gives them a sense of responsibility. Some of these guys have probably never done much manual labor. They see they can do it and they see the results of it and it can change their attitudes and make them proud of themselves," Mobley said.

Aaron Miles, of Louisville, was a member of the work release crew at Corbin’s football field last week. He is in jail for drug and theft related offenses, he said, and is eligible for parole or shock probation this month. He is serving 15 percent of a five-year sentence and has been in jail for 8 months. He said being a part of the project is "privilege" and something he thinks he will look back on with fond memories.

"To be able to get out and see the sky and the sun is great," Miles said. "I’ve done some things I shouldn’t have, but I’m proud of this. I’m proud to help this community."

Miles attended Bullitt East High School and was a member of the football team there. Helping spruce up the stadium, he said, allows him to be close, in a small way, to the sport he enjoyed.

Duane Logan, Director of Maintenance for the Corbin Independent School System, said inmates like Miles are invaluable assets to the school district. The school system provided materials for the job.

"What they are doing is huge. It would have taken our crew forever. It’s relieved us to do a lot of other things in the system," he said. "This is a real blessing."