Work Camp Helping Local Church

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Created on Thursday, 03 March 2016 18:21

Written by Lily Elmore

LYNDON- The First Congregational Church in Lyndon is currently under construction. The Upright Steeple Society has planned the church will renovate their walls, ceilings, bathrooms, electricity, and heat.

Jim Gallagher, a trustee from the church, says the best-case scenario is the renovations will be finished by the end of this year. But the worst-case scenario is the building will be restored early next year. All in all, Gallagher says the building will be restored as a nice, historic, but useful community facility.

The folks who are completing the project are not who you would expect. The Saint Johnsbury Work Camp at the prison is completing construction.

To Gallagher and the work crews, it’s a win-win situation.

“The work crew gets to do something constructive instead of sitting in jail,” says Gallagher. “And from our perspective, it’s great to have their help.”

However, the state is considering shutting the work camp down in order to save the state money but not all agree with this proposal.

“The governor has at least preliminarily redlined this program,” says Gallagher.

When Governor Peter Shumlin announced the final state budget proposal, he revealed how he will continue work on reducing the incarceration rate to its lowest point since the early 2000’s.

According to the Shumlin administration, the state has saved 20 million dollars. The money is instead been used for universal Pre-k, free school meals, and expanded dual enrollment and early college programs.

The Caledonia Community Work Camp foreman Mark Valley says he thinks Shumlin has his priorities all wrong.

“I think we do a lot of good for the community and I think it would be a shame to see us close down,” says Valley. “I’ve been here for close to 18 years now, and we’ve done a tremendous amount of projects and I’d like to continue doing that.”

The legislative discussion will reveal the future of the work camp.

For Gallagher, assistance in projects like the Upright Steeple Society project impacts the local community.