KEVIN HALPERN, Courier Co-Editor
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 6:38 am

Cannon County Executive Mike Gannon said Tuesday that county employees who work at the Cannon County Convenience Center will soon be required to pass periodic drug screens.

The move comes in the wake of two incidents which occurred last week at the convenience center involving inmates from the Cannon County Jail.

The sheriff's department provides inmate labor to the convenience center so that it can stay open more hours each week without the county having to hire additional employees.

However, the inmates are supposed to be closely supervised by convenience center employees while they are working.

Gannon admits that supervision was lacking when the incidents of last week occurred, and said that Sheriff Darrell Young did the right thing by stopping inmates from working at the facility.

"I don't blame him for pulling them for the time being," Gannon said.

Sheriff Young has arranged for convenience center employees to take a 40-hour basic training class on inmate supervision through the State of Tennessee. Once they have completed the training, inmates will once again be allowed to work at the center.

"The dump is never open without a county worker being there," Gannon said. "There was one there last week when these incidents occurred," but they were inside the building while they should have been out watching the inmates."

Gannon said he believes the use of inmate labor is a benefit to the community because it allows the convenience center to stay open for 60 hours a week instead of 40 without adding any employees to the county payroll.

"We never let anyone who could be considered a dangerous inmate work at the dump or anywhere else in the community.," Gannon said. "We have had a few problems with inmates there (convenience center) over the years but nothing major."

As part of the more rigorous supervision efforts, Gannon said convenience center workers will be subjected to drug testing.

"I will be the first one to take a drug test because I don't want to ask my employees to do something that I am not willing to do," Gannon said. "However, if deputies are subjected to drugs tests, then anyone who regularly works with inmates should be as well."