BLOOD, SWEAT AND PRAYERS FOR A FALLEN COMRADE: WORK PROGRAM AFTER 15 YEARS OF OPERATION

It's not unusual to see workers in bright orange suits hard at work in the Cape Girardeau County Parks.

This county prisoner work program has saved taxpayers thousands of dollars, and allowed inmates of non-violent crimes to give something back to the community.

It started 15 years ago -- the brainchild of former Circuit Judge A.J. Seier, former County Commissioners Leonard Sander and J. Ronald Fischer, and Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep.

Inmates perform all kinds of manual labor -- from mowing grass and pulling weeds in the summer months, to raking leaves in the fall and shoveling snow in the winter.

It's a practical idea that still works great today.