Wednesday, March 29, 2006

LOGAN HALL ADMINISTRATOR...........CLUELESS

ALTHOUGH I'M HAPPY ABOUT LIFE, AND FEEL SO MUCH LIGHTER, I DO HAVE TO FILL YOU IN AS TO WHAT IS HAPPENING AT LOGAN HALL. THE HALF-WAY HOUSE THAT JIMMY IS IN.....

JIMMY IS REALLY NOT HAPPY THERE AT ALL!  HE HAS BEEN THERE FOR OVER 1 WEEK, AND HE IS JUST NOT HAPPY SITTING AROUND ALL DAY, DOING NOTHING PRODUCTIVE.  HE IS NOT INTERESTED IN PLAYING POOL AND TABLE TENNIS, AS THE OTHER GUYS........JIMMY WANTS TO GO BACK TO HIS MANAGER'S JOB, AT IGA IN ATLANTIC CITY........

99 PER CENT OF THE RESIDENTS ARE HAPPY SITTING AROUND ALL DAY "PLAYING," AND JUST HANGING OUT AT LOGAN HALL.  THAT IS HOW DELIQUENT PRISONER BOYS ARE.  MY HUSBAND HAS A HIGH WORK ETHIC, AND HE WANTS TO GO TO HIS JOB............THE MEMBER OF PAROLE , WHOM INTERVIEWED HIM, SAID HE WOULD SEND JIMMY TO A NEAR-BY HALF-WAY HOUSE, BUT SOMEHOW HE WOUND UP OVER 200 MILES AWAY FROM HIS JOB............AND NOW , TODAY HE FOUND OUT THAT THE RESIDENT CAN ONLY GO TO A JOB WITHIN A 25 MILE RADIUS...............WELL, NEED I TELL YOU, MY HUSBAND IS FUMING RIGHT NOW.

HE IS UNAB;E TO SPEAK WITH HIS PAROLE OFFICER, WHO IS AT LOGAN HALL.  HE IS EITHER NEVER THERE, OR JUST IGNORES THE WHOLE SITUATION................I HAVE SENT FAXES, LETTERS, AND LEFT MESSAGES IN HIS VOICE MAIL BOX, WITH NO AVAIL.  SO TODAY, I SENT OUT 4 MORE LETTERS...THIS TIME TO THE SUPERVISOR OF PAROLE, IN TRENTON.  HE IS THE PERSON WHO SPOKE ON THE PHONE WITH ME, BEFORE JIMMY WENT THERE, AND TOLD ME TO CONTACT THIS MAN, AND EXPLAIN THE SITUATION............BUT NO ONE CAN GET A HOLD OF THIS PERSON......EVEN JIMMY'S COUNSELOR HAS TRIED, BUT SHE CAN'T , EITHER....

THE MANAGEMENT AND OWNER OF IGA, ATLANTIC CITY,  HAVE SENT FAXES TO THE PAROLE OFFICER AT LOGAN HALL.........STILL NO ANSWER....NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIVING ANYTHING...........

THIS I FEEL, IS BEING VERY DISRESPECTFUL, TO THE WIFE AND EMPLOYERS OF THE RESIDENT.

ON TOP OF IT ALL, LOGAN HALL SEEMS TO BE A NEW PROGRAM SET UP, FOR THOSE ON PAROLE.  IT IS NEAR TO TALBOT HALL, BUT NOTHING LIKE IT...........LOGAN HALL, I SADLY MUST SAY, APPEARS TO NOT BE MANAGED VERY WELL...............AND TRUTHFULLY, I DON'T THINK THE ADMISISTRATORS HAVE A CLUE WHAT IS GOING ON THERE........

DURING THE DAY, PROGRAMS ARE HELD, HAPHAZARDLY....IF "THEY FEEL LIKE IT."...........THERE IS NO STRUCTURE..........NO CLASSES.........A LIBRARY THAT IS IN A CLOSET, SMALLER THAN MY BEDROOM CLOSET...........

THEY HAVE BEAUTIFUL, MODERN TV'S...LIKE 7 OF THEM..........THE GUYS ALWAYS WITH THEIR HEADS IN THOSE TV SETS.......GAME ROOMS.......THEY CAN WALK AROUND, AND GO OUTSIDE..........TREADMILLS, AND OTHER WORK-OUT EQUIPMENT.........SCATTERED ABOUT, IN THE DIFFERENT SECTIONS.........EXPENSIVE STUFF........

JIMMY IS IN A SECTIO CALLED, "HOPE HALL."  HOWEVER THE SITUATION APPEARS TO BE HOPELESS......MY HUSBAND CRRENTLY HAS A VERY GOOD JOB........AND THEY ARE DESTROYING EVEN THAT.......AS EVEYONE KNOWS, T IS USUALLY HARD FOR A MAN WITH A CRIMINAL HISTORY TO GET A JOB, AND HE WAS LUCKY TO GET THE JOB, AS HE IS A WONDERFUL MANAGER, AND HAS EXCELLENT LEADERSHIP SKILLS..........AND NOW, THE PRISON SYSTEM EVEN TRIES TO DESTROY THAT............THE PRISON SYSTEM "SAYS" THEY ARE TRYING TO REFORM THE MEN......BUT IN REALITY, ARE THEY REALLY?.........INSTEAD, THEY SEEM TO BE TRYING TO DESTROY MY HUSBAND'S GOOD JOB.......

GOING BACK TO LOGAN HALL, AND IT'S "COUNTRY CLUB LIFE-STYLE"...............

GOOD!   GREAT!.......WONDERFUL!..........BUT MY HUSBAND WANTS TO WORK........HE WANTS TO GO BACK TO HIS JOB WHICH THE OWNER HAS BEEN HOLDING SINCE DECEMBER 2005, FOR HIM..........

AND NOW, WHAT I WILL TELL YOU, MAY SHOCK YOU ALL.........I REALLY CONSIDERED WHETHER OR NOT TO WRITE THIS HERE.........BUT, I WILL.

THE RESIDENTS ARE SMOKING JOINTS....MARIJUANA....POT...WEED.............WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT, ON THE PREMISES OF LOGAN HALL....NOW, YOU FIGURE IT OUT.............THAT STUFF HAS A STRONG SMELL TO IT..........I JUST WONDER EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING ON THERE.......

HIS COUSELOR IS A YOUNG WOMAN WHO JUST STARTED THE JOB A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND SHE IS RUNNING AROUND, TRYING TO DO HER BEST..........

2 DAYS AGO, OUR PHONE WAS SUDDENLY BLOCKED......JIMMY CALLED ME FROM THE COUNSELOR'S OFFICE........."GET THE PHONE TURNED BACK ON, FRAN," HE SAID............BUT HOW?........NO ONE INFORMED ME ABOUT ANYTHING..........I CALLED VERIZON, AND GTL, AND SEVERAL OTHER PHONE COMPANIES........I WAS ON THE PHONE FOR 4 HOURS, OR MORE........GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES.............I CALLED LOGAN HALL.  THE PERSON I SPOKE TO , KEPT TELLING ME IT WAS VERIZON.........NO ONE KNEW ANYTHING......I MEAN, TO ME, THIS IS INEFFICIENCY...

I CALLED LOGAN HALL, TWICE, WITH NO AVAIL.....ON THE 3RD TRY, I ASKED TO SPEAK TO THE ADMINISTARTOR OF LOGAN HALL...........HE DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING HIMSELF ABOUT THE PHONES...........HE WAS ABRUPT AND RUSHED AND ANNOYED............AND I KNOW HE LIED TO ME, BECAUSE THE ADMINISTRATOR IS AN ITALIAN MAN, AND THIS WAS A BLACK MAN......................HE TOLD ME HE WOULD FIND OUT AND CALL ME BACK WITH THE INFORTMATION...............WELL, I'M GLAD I DIDN'T HOLD MY BREATH, BECAUSE IT IS 2 DAYS LATER, AND HE STILL HASN'T CALLED, AND I KNOW HE WON'T.............LUCKILY, THROUGH MY OWN PERSERVERANCE, I FOUND OUT WHO TO CALL, TO GET THE PHONE TURNED ON, YJROUGH A PRE-PAID ACCOUNT............I'M SORRY TO TELL YOU THIS MESS...BUT, YOU SEE, WHEN MY HUSBAND IS UPSET, AND NOT BEING TREATED RIGHT, I'M RIGHT THERE FOR HIM............

LAST WEEK, WHEN JIMMY ARRIVED, I CALLED LOGN HALL AROUND 10 TIMES TO GET THE PROPER INFO.........I SPOKE TO A MANAGER IN AN OFFICE....HE SAID, I COULD BRING JIMMY'S CLOTHES NY NIGHT, AND HE GAVE ME THE HOURS TO DO SO.  I HAD TO GET A FRIEND, WHO CLOSED HIS FURNITURE STORE EARLY, DROVE 1 HOUR TO MY HOUSE TO PICK UP THE CLOTHES.....THEN, HE DROVE 1 HOUR, 15 MINUTES TO LOGAN HALL, ONLY TO BE TOLD THAT THEY WOULDNOT ACCEPT TH CLOTHES....IT WAS ONLY CERTAIN DAYS IN THE WEEK.........SO, POOR LARRY, HAD TO DO THE SAME THING THE NEXT DAY..........EVEN HE JUST COULD NOT BELIEVE THIS KIND OF INEFFICIENCY........

SO, THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT.........I KNOW YOU WANT TO HEAR THAT EVERYTHING IS ALL PEACHY CREAM, AND ROSES..............BUT IT ISN'T IN THE PRISON SYSTEM...........AND I SAID IT ONCE, AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN, ALTHOUGH MANY OF YOU DISAGREED WITH ME............"THE PRISON SYSTEM TRIES IT'S BEST TO DESTROY FAMILIES."

"LOGAN HALL...........JUST WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

...........FRAN

 

 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fran, never apoligize for what you have to say in your journal. Isn't part of the reason you write this journal, beside making people aware of the penal system, also to vent some when you feel as if you are beating your head against the wall? I am sorry Jimmy and you are having such a problem. It doesn't surprise me that this system is messed up, it is a government run facility after all, LOL. I can't believe they placed  Jimmy 200 miles from the place he is suppose/wanted to work at. Just one more shining exsample of our penal system keeping abreast of things. Is the market that is holding Jimmy's job for him near your home? Will they hold the job for him until he is done with the halfway house? I hope everything works out, the two of you have been through so very much. Keep your head up Fran, this too shall pass. You are almost at the end of it all. Keeping you both in my prayers
                                                      Hugs, Cyndy

Anonymous said...

Fran, would you be interested in writing a piece about your troubles with Jimmy's release for my webpages?  I would love the public to be able to see on my site all the troubles that continue even after release from the actual prison.

Steffi
http://prisontalk.blogspot.com
http://spaces.msn.com/members/prisontalk

Anonymous said...

Fran, you write anything you want in here; this is your journal. I'm sorry for this place; it seems like a glorified jail. I would think the purpose of a halfway house is to get people back used to living in the world. To become productive again. Seems like they are just babysitting these men until their time is up. Not right; a waste of tax dollars and then to be smoking pot too?? Some authority, and I don't know who, needs to know about this

betty