Free Republic

In three weeks there have been three inmates who escaped from the Huntington Work Release Center. One inmate has been caught, but two are still on the run. HUNTINGTON -- At the Huntington Work Release Center, 50 male inmates and 12 female inmates reside. According to Deputy Commissioner James J. Ielapi of the West Virginia Division of Corrections, these are a low custody classification of inmates who are physically able to work. “It’s a step toward going back to a community to live.” The center, located on Fifth Avenue in Huntington, has supervisors who keep track of inmates. Every morning...

Nice work if you can get it. Officials are looking into whether Martha Stewart's appearance at a glitzy Manhattan ball last week was proper under her work release program. The probe began after the domestic diva attended Time magazine's gala Tuesday celebrating its 100 Most Influential People - including Stewart, authorities said. "We have some information that this event may not have been directly work-related, so we will be doing some investigating," said Chris Stanton, chief federal probation officer for the Southern District of New York.

DES MOINES, IA - A prisoner serving a 50-year sentence for second-degree murder was being sought Sunday after he failed to return from work-release. Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections said Sam Henry Archer, 30, failed to return from a job late Saturday. He was placed on escape status just after 3 a.m. Sunday, officials said. He had been transferred to the Fort Des Moines Work Release Facility on Feb. 11. Fred Scaletta, a corrections department spokesman, said a national warrant for Archer's arrest was issued Sunday. ''Any person who makes the decision to escape, whether from work-release or...

A convicted felon made more money on work release at his state job than the warden does at the prison where the inmate was housed. Rock Mueller's salary while under contract, $55,200 a year, and the fact that he was hired to help run the state's anti-smoking program at all, is being questioned following the release of an audit that showed possible illegal activity by Mueller. The FBI and Nebraska State Patrol are investigating. Gov. Mike Johanns was not consulted about hiring Mueller, said Johanns' spokeswoman Terri Teuber. "His immediate reaction was that it certainly appears he was overpaid," Teuber...

GO PISTONS!

<p>While Virginia Tech appears ready to jump, Miami (Fla.) is showing some uncertainty about joining the Hokies in leaving the Big East for an expanded Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC confirmed Wednesday that it has extended membership invitations to the two schools, veering from the league's original plan to add Miami, Boston College and Syracuse.</p>

Pickin' and Grinnin': College football goes to the courts June 12, 2003 The unthinkable has happened. College football is now mirroring society. Let's all officially welcome the group entering through the back door, with their shiny suits and plastic hair and their arguments for the sake of argument. Ladies and gentlemen, lawyers and politicians have their slithery sights set on our sacred game. The problem: They were invited by five jilted and jaded girlfriends from the Big East, who can't understand why The Bachelor didn't pick them. Officials from Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Rutgers have filed suit...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State President T.K. Wetherell reorganized the school's athletic department Friday, moving many responsibilities to other areas of the university to eliminate what the school's inspector general described as a culture of isolation. Wetherell did not fire anyone, but made it clear he's awaiting evaluations on several department employees by athletic director David Hart Jr., who was singed in the IG's 10-page evaluation of the department and will get his own evaluation later. The department's reporting system "exposes the university to significant risk and shows lack of forethought and good judgment," inspector general David Coury wrote. Several...