Kyle Overmyer is the youngest sheriff in the state of Ohio.  He is only 38 years old, but that doesn’t mean that he lacks motivation or wisdom.  When he took office he was told to “trim” the budget.  He found a creative way to do just that.  In 2009, the food budget for the Sandusky County Jail was $120,000.  This year it was $88,000.

The inmates used to get pancakes, sweetened cereal, and sometimes breakfast meat.  They also had hot  lunches and dinners with all kinds of meats and trimmings. Now they get cereal for breakfast, a sack lunch for lunch and a good hot meal for dinner,  but no red meat.  Of course the inmates were not thrilled with this change, but Sheriff Overmyer tells them, “This is not a party and this is not a hotel.”

Sheriff Overmyer is a tax payer’s hero.  It all began with a simple idea and has blossomed into a program that has been a real money saver.  Many other counties and states are looking to pattern a program like this.  The idea was to plant a garden near the jail and have the low level offenders work the garden.

Overmyer said the garden is aimed at partly rehabilitation and partly to save money. “It helps the jail, the inmates, and the taxpayers.  It’is a win-win operation.”

The first garden was planted in the spring of 2009 and the sheriff actually helped plant the seed.  Since then it has grown to a 1.5 acre plot. Many inmates come in with the attitude that we owe it to them to provide what they need, including food, and we do. But now they have to contibute to their own food supply.

More about the “jail garden”  tomorrow.