Local inmates shovel out those in need Tuesday

Every year, when winter weather hits Bristol County, volunteer inmate workers from the House of Correction are out in the community shoveling out those in need.

And for one Dartmouth woman, they couldn’t have come at a better time than Tuesday morning.

A crew of inmate workers under the supervision of Capt. Bobby Johnson hopped out in front of her home, grabbed their shovels from the back of the van and started clearing the sidewalk in front of her home in North Dartmouth Tuesday morning. Nearby, a medical supply truck was unloading equipment into her home.

“My husband’s coming home from the hospital today in an ambulance,” she said in her doorway while the Bristol County inmates shoveled her steps and cleared the handicap ramp to her side door. “I just want to say thank you very much for everything.”

The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office partners with the Dartmouth Council on Aging to help those in need after snowstorms. The Dartmouth COA provides a list of seniors and others in need of help clearing their property to the BCSO’s Community Work Program.

While Capt. Johnson’s crew was aiding the woman waiting for her husband to come home from the hospital, Corrections Officer Janet Vazquez was just down the street on Slocum Road with another crew of inmate volunteers who were clearing the sidewalk and driveway of another Dartmouth senior citizen.

The inmate volunteer crews tackled 10 homes provided by the Dartmouth COA and also made a trip to the Westport Housing Authority to clear walkways for seniors.

Dartmouth residents who want more information about the program can contact the Council on Aging.