Applaud community

Dear Editor,

As the Work Ethic Camp (WEC) has been a partnership effort between the Department of Correctional Services and the Nebraska Probation Administration, I have had the opportunity to not only supervise Probation's staff at WEC, but to work with the Superintendent, Raleigh Haas, and his staff.

There have been numerous rewarding experiences that have developed from this partnership with one of the greatest being the impact that WEC has had on the offenders who have completed the program. The program is currently being evaluated and even though this evaluation has not been completed, I can report numerous successes that I have observed within the last two years.

I know the McCook community and Southwest Nebraska are aware of the current budget struggles that have been evaluated by the Nebraska Legislature. There was a time when some of us were gravely concerned that funding for the Work Ethic Camp would be eliminated and the facility would be closed.

One of the greatest experiences in my career was to see the citizens of Southwest Nebraska respond to this crisis. I am somewhat reluctant to mention names as I am concerned of missing someone, however, I must tell you how much I appreciated the efforts of Senator Tom Baker, Marie Owens, Ron Friehe, Claude Cappel, Van Korell, Kayla LaVerne, Greg Wolford, and Mayor Jerda Garey. Some of these people spent hours with me either in Senator Baker's office or the Legislative chambers plotting a course of action in assuring that funding would continue for WEC.

I applaud the McCook community and the citizens of Southwest Nebraska for their support and I am glad that we "are all on the same team."

David L. Wegner

Deputy Probation

Administrator

Lincoln