Oak Ridge Today

Chief Jailer Avery Johnson named Jail Administrator of the Year

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Anderson County Chief Jailer Avery Johnson, second from right, is pictured above with Sheriff Paul White, right; Chief Deputy Mark Lucas, second from left; and Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally. (Submitted photo)

Anderson County Chief Jailer Avery Johnson, second from right, is pictured above with Sheriff Paul White, right; Chief Deputy Mark Lucas, second from left; and Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally. (Submitted photo)

 

Anderson County Chief Jailer Avery Johnson was recently presented the Jail Administrator of the Year award by the Tennessee Corrections Institute, or TCI.

The Tennessee Corrections Institute is the state agency that regulates local jails and workhouses. The award was presented at the annual TCI Jail Issues Conference in Franklin, Tennessee.

Also attending the award ceremony were Anderson County Sheriff Paul White, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas, Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, and Johnson’s wife Diane with other family members.

The Jail Administrator of the Year award is awarded to a worthy candidate who must be a full-time jail administrator responsible for operations within a local correctional facility, a press release said. The nominee must have demonstrated a high level of professionalism and dedication in the area of corrections within the agency and community. They must have initiated or promoted programs enhancing the operations of a correctional facility within the State of Tennessee. They must also have contributed toward the overall mission of TCI in working to develop a professional corrections environment for today and tomorrow.

Chief Jailer Avery Johnson began his career with the Anderson County Sheriff Department in February 1981. [Read more…]

Feud over food: Documents on jail menus, orders

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Paul White

Paul White

CLINTON—Anderson County Sheriff Paul White and his challenger, Anthony Lay, have had a feud over the food served at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton.

The feud started with a June 26 press release by Lay, a Republican challenging White, a Democrat, in the August 7 election. Lay said the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department appears to be operating a bakery, and he has suggested inmates are eating cookies and cobbler, and pies and pudding.

If elected, Lay said, he would “cut the fiscal fat from the sheriff’s jail budget by cutting out the pie.”

“Jail will be a jail, not a hotel or bakery,” said Lay, a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper.

A few days later, White responded in a statement that said “inaccurate and misleading information” was being circulated in the campaign for sheriff.

“The jail does not operate a ‘bakery,’” said White, who is running for his third four-year term as sheriff.

The jail menus are “quite conservative,” White said, and the average meal costs $1.10. [Read more…]

Sheriff candidates spar over jail food

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Anderson County Jail Sandwich Lunch

A hand-picked crew of nine inmates prepares peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches on white bread for lunch at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Wednesday. Oak Ridge Today was allowed to take pictures of the kitchen, food storage area, and coolers and freezers, but not the inmates.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1 a.m. July 25.

Sheriff: Despite campaign claims, jail menu conservative, with average meal $1.10

Challenger stands by his pie, ice cream claims

CLINTON—The menu at the Anderson County jail at lunchtime Wednesday was simple and spartan: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich and milk.

It doesn’t appear to be an unusual meal at the jail, at least not this week. In fact, the menu this week includes three similar lunches with 1/4 cup of peanut butter and jelly mix, two slices of bread, and 8 oz. of milk or chocolate milk.

Anthony Lay

Anthony Lay

Other meals on the menu—the jail can serve up to 8,000 per week—also call for small portions of meat and bread, fruits and vegetables, and beans and milk.

But Anthony Lay, a Republican candidate for Anderson County sheriff, has raised questions about what inmates are eating. He has suggested they’re eating luxuriously, enjoying pies, cobblers, cookies, and cake. Lay has said the jail appears to be operating a bakery, and taxpayers are footing the bill.

“Fresh baked (double chunk) cookies; cherry, blackberry, and blueberry cobbler; pumpkin and apple pie with Cool Whip—these are all delicious,” Lay said in a June 26 press release. “But at the end of the day, taxpayers foot the bill, and they don’t expect us to offer luxuries to folks who, let’s face it, are in jail for a reason.”

Paul White

Paul White

Sheriff Paul White, a Democrat seeking his third term in the August 7 election, has dismissed Lay’s claims as inaccurate and misleading.

“The jail does not operate a bakery,” White said in a July 1 statement.

He said the jail menus are quite conservative. They include a cold sandwich for lunch. The average meal costs $1.10, White said. [Read more…]