Community Service Aids In-plant

“Because we’re a two-person shop, we’re limited in what we’re able to accomplish,” acknowledges Richard Showers, printing supervisor for the city of Longmont, Colo. Jobs tend to back up, he adds.

To ease the burden, Showers came up with a unique solution 10 years ago. Knowing that law breakers were often sentenced to perform community service, he proposed letting them carry out that service by helping in the city in-plant. His small staff would get a helping hand (without owing wages) and the mostly youthful offenders would learn a little about printing. The idea was a hit.