Gary Klien

MARIN COUNTY PRISONERS GIVEN OPPORTUNITY TO EARN FOOD SERVICES CERTIFICATION

Lawrence Foster says he’s never had a professional certificate, and now that he does, he wants to make the most of it.

Foster, a 53-year-old Marin City resident, was one of five inmates to earn food handling certification Feb 14 in a pilot program at the Marin County Jail. The inmates received their credentials during a ceremony in the jail kitchen.

“This is a very inspiring moment for me and something to build upon,” said Foster, who is serving jail time on drug offenses and a probation violation. “I’m going to use it to the best of my ability.”

The voluntary program is intended to give inmates some official training that might help them find work when they are released, said sheriff’s Capt. Doug Endy, who runs the jail.

“Our philosophy now has become more in the rehabilitation arena,” Endy said. “This certi- fi cation should be a positive step in that direction.”

The program is offered to low-level offenders who are trusted to perform work in the jail. Similar programs are in place at other jails.

In Marin, the program is overseen by Jan Wyatt-Lucha, the jail’s food service manager and a registered dietician. The course, which is completed in fi ve hours over a one-week period, consists of training in food-borne illness, temperature control, storage and rotation, personal hygiene, food safety laws and other aspects of kitchen work, Wyatt-Lucha said.

“I love it,” she said. “I’m so proud of them.”

The jail uses a course designed by the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals, which adheres to state regulations and standards. Endy said the cost of the program is a nominal $15 or so for course materials.

The next class was scheduled to start in two weeks, and the jail is also working on setting up a bakery program.

Richard Lopez, a member of the inaugural class, said he joined because he doesn’t like “just sitting in my cell.”

“Any time I can jump on an opportunity to get something out of a situation, even a bad situation, I’ll jump on that,” said Lopez, 46, who is in custody for DUI and drug cases and other offenses.

This story is reprinted with permission of the Marin Independent Journal.

Death row inmate Edward Dean Bridges, 55, dies Thursday morning of suicide. (Photo provided by California Department of Corrections)A condemned inmate at San Quentin State Prison was found dead in his cell Thursday in an apparent suicide, authorities said.
Edward Dean Bridges, 55, had been on death row since 1992, when he was sentenced for a kidnapping and murder in Riverside County. He was found unconscious in his cell early Thursday morning in an apparent hanging, said Darrell Harris, a Marin County coroner’s investigator.
“Our pathologist didn’t have anything to indicate it was anything other than self-asphyxiation by suicide,” Harris said.
Bridges was housed in a cell by himself. He left no suicide message and had no history of suicidal behavior, Harris said.
Since California reinstated capital punishment in 1978, 41 condemned inmates have died of natural causes, 15 committed suicide, 13 were executed in California, one was executed in Missouri and five died of other causes, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
There are now 677 inmates on California’s death row, said Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the CDCR.
Bridges was convicted in the 1988 slaying of William Seiler, a lawyer in Orange County. Authorities said Bridges forced Seiler to drive to a remote area, tied his hands together, executed him with two gunshots to the head, and stole his car and wallet. The next day, Bridges was detained on suspicion of public intoxication in Orange, and police found Seiler’s car about two blocks away.

County Jail Program Provides Valuable Training

Condemned Inmate Found Dead