Seven Walton County Jail Inmates Graduate From Six-Week Construction Course
Seven Walton County Jail inmates graduated Wednesday morning from a six-week construction course, the latest class in a Walton County Sheriff’s Office trade program that serves the entire county — Freeport included. The graduates finished the course with two sheds and several birdhouses to their credit.
The Nov. 4 ceremony capped six weeks of hands-on building led by an instructor the students know as “Mr. Mack” — James “Mack” Bailey, who also taught the eight-man class that completed the jail’s construction trade program in July. Alongside the carpentry, the course reinforced lessons centered on work ethic, faith, and making better decisions.
Graduate James Johnson fought back tears during the ceremony, thanking jail staff for encouraging him to enroll and expressing gratitude for the opportunity to turn his life around, according to WJHG. The Sheriff’s Office says the initiative is designed to reduce recidivism by equipping participants with marketable job skills and a pathway to stable employment after release.
The graduation is the construction program’s latest milestone since July, when eight inmates finished a 160-hour construction trade class Bailey taught through a partnership with Northwest Florida State College. That cohort built birdhouses, sheds, and dog houses for Walton County Animal Services and an American flag in memory of Deputy Will May, a Walton County sheriff’s deputy killed in the line of duty. Bailey said it was the first class in which every enrolled inmate made it to graduation.
The Walton County Jail serves all of Walton County, including Freeport, and the Sheriff’s Office frames the construction classes as a way to give participants from across the county a path to stable work once they walk out. For Freeport residents, the program is part of the county’s investment in breaking the cycle of reoffense — putting trade skills in inmates’ hands before they return to their communities.
Originally reported by WJHG Newschannel 7, with program background from WJHG’s July coverage. Image: WJHG Newschannel 7.
