Clarion County Jail Warden Jeff Hornberger is running something similar to a small town.
That was the impression during a tour last week of the Clarion County Jail, during which members of the jail inspection board and the press got a look at areas such as the cafeteria, and medical and rec areas, just to name a few.
The jail, which can accommodate more than 120 people, currently houses about 60 inmates, 20 of whom are female. The jail has two cellblocks for women and four for men. The male and female prisoners do not interact with one another.
Unlike old prison movies, the jail is highly sanitized.
“We keep the area clean,” Hornberger said. “The inmates do a lot of the work. It’s not slave labor. We pay them 25 cents an hour.” The inmates also paint when needed.
The inmates work in several areas. One of them, Hornberger said, is in charge of the laundry, and “She is at it all day.”
The inmates also help in the kitchen area. Food service manager Trina Gross is responsible for serving up to 120 meals three times daily. She is assisted by three cooks and as many as six inmate helpers.
Unlike many jails, the Clarion County facility prepares all of the meals in-house. “We try to give the food a home-cooked flavor,” Gross said. “Sometimes we spice things up a little.”
“I monitor the food costs every week,” he said.
The jail uses cutlery that cannot be turned into a weapon. Flexible plastic “sporks” (a combination fork and spoon) are counted after each meal. The trays are heavy plastic with no sharp edges. All of the cleaning chemicals in the kitchen are inventoried daily.
The prisoners have access to a small gymnasium where they can walk or play handball. The gym also features wall paintings by the inmates. One wall holds a fantasy scene, another displays an American Eagle, and another the solar system.
Inmates also have access to four secure outside recreational yards that are walled with a concertina wire room to discourage escape attempts.
In addition to the jail nurse, the inmates also can visit a counselor or attend meetings provided by approved volunteer organizations.
The inmates have access to a library, but it has been reduced to a law library since male and female inmates were caught passing notes to one another in the pages of books.
There are four visitation booths at the jail. Visitors may deposit money into an inmate’s commissary account through an ATM machine.
The pandemic posed its challenges, Hornberger said, but “our population was low” at the time. “I don’t like to see it, but it is creeping higher. Whatever happens, we are ready for them.”