About 40 tour juvenile center at open house

Norma Blattner was curious about what goes on within the walls of the Cape Girardeau County Juvenile Detention Center. So when the facility held its first open house Sunday, the 79-year-old Cape Girardeau resident was among 40 curious visitors who took a tour.

"It seems to me that they're covering all the bases," Blattner said after the tour.

From individuals to parents with their children to political candidates, each was guided through the 30-year-old facility that holds up to 10 teenage boys.

"Some people know we're here," said superintendent Pat Colon. "Some people are like, 'You know, I never knew what that building was back there.'"

Blattner's tour started with the classroom where detainees and suspended students are taught by Connie Fox, the detention center's teacher and also Blattner's neighbor. From there, Colon showed her what needs the facility is designed to meet -- from clothes to sleeping quarters to food to recreation.

In the combination laundry/ locker/shower room, Blattner learned that only staff members are allowed to do the laundry. In the security room, she learned that the juveniles are protected by electronic locks on each door and security cameras in every room.

The day room has chairs that are only light enough to be scooted across the floor, a virtually immovable foosball table and a wall-mounted TV. The rotation is generally two juveniles at a time for one hour. They can also use a basketball court surrounded by red mesh and razor wire.

A strip of green tape down the middle of the hallway marks where detainees can walk to their 10-foot-by-8-foot cells. From the tape, they can't touch the walls or doors. The tape was put down after a juvenile jammed some bolts, locking others in their cells. The slide-bolt lock system has since been replaced.

Blattner suggested that instead of feeding the juveniles only through food passes in the cell doors, the staff could bring one or two at a time to eat in the day room. That was tried, Colon said, but it was too difficult because of the small size of the facility.

Eric Pruemer of Cape Girardeau brought his two sons and two daughters to the center at the suggestion of his wife.

"Our kids seem so sheltered," he said. "They don't know what other kids have to go through."

Other families included grandparents with their grandchildren and a father who wanted to deter his 12-year-old son from committing crimes.

The Missouri Juvenile Justice Association recommended ways of commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the Missouri juvenile court system. Holding an open house was the idea the detention center adopted, said juvenile officer Randy Rhodes. The variety of visitors was what he had hoped for.

"It hit the populations that I thought would come in," he said.

Incumbent county Commissioner Larry Bock attended the open house.

"Any kind of detention is not very pretty, but it's something we have to have in society," he said, so allowing people to tour the center lets them understand what goes on behind the doors.

Teachers also attended, so Rhodes said he is now considering setting a date for the next open house in late fall so more teachers could come. Many juveniles are brought to the facility for school violations, he said.

jmetelski@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127