 GETTING TO KNOW YOUR COUNTY COMMUNITY SERVICE
This position is supervised by a life-long Kingman County resident
and long-time County Employee Steve Ramsey, Community Service activities are a 24-hours-a-day, 364-days per year operation.
Steve's responsibility is to oversee the placement of and work performed by individuals who are assigned "Community
Service" hours by such entities as Community Corrections, the County Attorney, Court Services, and the District Court.
The philosophy of the program is to make offenders accountable and, hopefully, encourage them to become responsible citizens
by working for governmental or non-profit organizations in the community. Some 49 non-for-profit and government organizations
took advantage of labor from this program during the past year. Community Service workers, ranging in age from 12 to
60 years, provide free of charge "volunteer" work and have done activities such as cooking, cleaning, washing, painting,
sweeping, building, spraying, typing and filing, and even reading to the elderly!
During the Christmas season,
Community Service workers served as bell-ringers for the Salvation Army. The Kingman County Fair also used this free
labor to prepare food for fair-goers. For a Family Mentoring activity, community Service labor helped set up a swing
set and assisted in a substantial way on work done on the Saddle and Roper's building. That project was a significant
undertaking; workers sealed, painted, sheet rocked walls, built a closet and installed doors.
Many Community Service
individuals gain experience with other workers and work-sites that make possible new, positive work experiences. That
experience provides an opportunity to learn new job skills. A few individuals even gain future paid-job contacts.
Many of these offenders discover that their work is truly appreciated at their assigned work sites.
The Community
may have the misconception that "community service" is little more than having criminals picking up trash from a
littered street. But as you can see - it goes far beyond that limited scope. Community Service programs can genuinely
be a "win-win" for all involved. It is, literally, an opportunity for something positive to happen after
a negative event. As with all things in life, the individual must only have the desire to take advantage of the opportunity
- and Community Service provides that chance!
Proudly Serving you the Public!
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