Inmates Ready To Help With Flooding Prevention Efforts

(Pierre) - More than 500 state prison inmates are on stand-by to help with efforts to prevent flooding across the state of South Dakota.

Last weekend, 150 inmates were sent to Watertown to help sandbag areas threatened by high water. 150 inmates were sent there again today to assist with flood prevention efforts. Another group of 50 inmates helped fill 2-thousand sandbags in Renner today.

Fifty inmates from the Yankton Trusty Unit have been sent to Unit C of the Jameson Annex of the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. This allows for a faster deployment to help with flood fighting efforts.

"We have an Emergency Response team made up of inmates and staff that train for situations like this", says Corrections Secretary Jeff Bloomberg. "Between flooding, tornadoes in Spencer and Oglalla and forest fires, we're ready for any type of disaster at a moment's notice."

The Governor's office can call for the inmate crew to be deployed.

"Inmates are often the best source of labor in times of emergency", says Bloomberg. "The inmates take great pride in helping out even in the worst of conditions."

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