Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories

GI benefits from corrections flower program

Sat, Jul 23rd 2016 07:00 am

This spring, the Town of Grand Island was once again the recipient of flowers from the horticulture program at the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden. This popular prison rehabilitation program allows inmates to learn to plant seeds and care for seedlings at their various stages of growth, until the plants are ready for transplanting.

The Correctional Facility has three greenhouses that were busy places beginning in February, with plants ready for distribution throughout Erie County in late May. Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard's team at the Correctional Facility includes Chief of Operations Paul Evans and Industrial Training Supervisor John Fisher.

Jim Linenfelser, Town Hall caretaker, is shown planting the beds at the entrance to Town Hall in late May. The town received several dozen pots of individually potted geraniums and larger plants and two-dozen flats that each contained 48 seedlings. Plants from the inmate program have been used on numerous town properties, in addition to Town Hall, including in the areas shown in the photos: the Chamber of Commerce sign at the south entrance to Grand Island and Veterans Park. Pictured are the Miracle League sign and the boot designed for this year's Relay For Life that had the theme "Give Cancer the Boot!"

 

 

 

Hometown News

View All News