Morale of Jail Staff is Good

Dear Editor

I have worked for the Sheriff's Office for the last 2 ½ years as a corrections officer. I feel that residents of Walla Walla County need to hear from employees that work under Sheriff Turner. It is true Sheriff Turner, and his Command staff, have very high expectations of us all and I think most of us are good with that. We want to be considered good at what we do, and if we live up to those expectations we can be proud of what we contribute. One of the main expectations is, "hellip;hellip; to deliver the highest quality public service in an effort to make Walla Walla the safest county in the nation", as stated in our vision statement. I believe in that vision and work hard to fulfill it and I support Sheriff Turner.

I feel the morale between employees at the Jail is good. We are not just co-workers, many of us have developed friendships doing things outside of work together. This has created more of a brother/sisterhood as opposed to just a working relationship. I believe this is in part due to the open door policy and down to earth personalities of our Sheriff and Command Staff. Employees are more apt to ask questions to learn and develop their skills to help each other get the job done, than to just sit back and collect a pay check.

This brings me to the 12 hour shift schedule that the Corrections Officers are on. This schedule has many advantages with very minimal drawbacks. This schedule allows for the employees to have every other weekend off with their families. It also allows the Command staff to schedule required training without incurring an overtime pay situation. The 12 hour schedule was unanimously voted in by Jail staff about two years ago. It was made very clear that at anytime the majority of the employees decide it's not liked, it will be reconsidered and I haven't been given any reason to not trust that.

I enjoy my job as a Corrections Officer and I support Sheriff Turner for re-election. Lacey Ammons Walla Walla