SCOTT PRISONERS TO GET TRADITIONAL MEAL TODAY

BENTON -- Scott County prisoners will enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal today at noon, compliments of Sheriff Bill Ferrell.

In Cape Girardeau the Salvation Army's Thanksgiving meal will be served from noon until 2 p.m. About 500 people are expected at the Good Hope and Sprigg location.

People in the Anna-Jonesboro, Ill., area who are unable to prepare their own meal will receive a free Thanksgiving dinner at their home this year, thanks to a local church.

The church had sponsored a community dinner in the past, but decided to deliver meals to shut-ins this year. Reservations were taken earlier this week and meals will be delivered by noon today.

At the Scott County Jail, deputy and jail administrator Wes Drury and inmate Clay Graham, a trusty who is the jail's main cook, began preparing the Thanksgiving meal Wednesday by baking 22 pumpkin pies in two batches.

For each batch, they started with a large can of pumpkin weighing 6 pounds 10 ounces. They added 6 pounds of water, 12 ounces of powdered milk, 34 ounces of sugar, 22 ounces of eggs, 1 ounce of spice, 1 ounce of salt and 2 ounces of flour.

The dessert, enough for each prisoner to have one piece at lunch and another at supper, will be the finishing touch for a Thanksgiving feast consisting of two 24-pound turkeys, four stewing hens for the four large pans of dressing, cranberry sauce, hot rolls, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, green beans, corn and beverages.

Drury said they planned to start boiling the chickens about 10 p.m. Wednesday. He expected to have the chickens deboned and ready for the dressing at 2 a.m. He planned to start baking the two turkeys in the jail's oven about 4 a.m.

Don Robert, a reserve deputy who works full-time on the railroad, was expected to help cook the meal last night and this morning, Drury said.

"Don's a good cook who likes to help with this annual meal," he said. Drury considers himself good at preparing breakfast and desserts, while Robert is considered the master chef at Thanksgiving.

Ferrell said the prisoners always have more than enough food for their Thanksgiving meal. The jail has been providing the traditional holiday meal for inmates at both Thanksgiving and Christmas since he took office in 1977.

The sheriff receives $3.30 per day per prisoner to pay for their three daily meals in the jail. Ferrell didn't know how much more than that this Thanksgiving meal was going to cost, but he'll make up the difference.

"It's important for the spirit of those guys over there," said Ferrell, referring to the inmates. "They have a tendency to get down anyway -- being away from home -- and this helps their spirit."

Many of the prisoners will send letters of appreciation for the meal, Ferrell said.

One trusty, Ferrell recalled, cooked Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for three consecutive years at the county jail. The prisoner would get out of jail at other times of the year, but kept ending up inside over the holidays, Ferrell said.

"The sheriff provides an atmosphere where everyone realizes the inmates are still human beings," Drury said. "It's unfortunate that they did what they did, but this meal reminds them that they are still people. And it's a meal good enough for anyone's home."

The jail was almost full Wednesday, with 45 of the 48 beds occupied. Court proceedings were going on so prisoners were headed in and out. Drury expected a full house for Thanksgiving.