As Americans, most of us are all too aware of the disturbing trend of the increasing cost of health insurance premiums. Unfortunately for businesses who provide health insurance for their employees, that trend is not any different than it is for an individual. In fact, the cost had become so alarmingly high in recent years for own Farmers and Commercial Bank that bank officials decided to take action to promote wellness among their employees in the hopes of decreasing their insurance premiums.

In July 2004, the bank began a health awareness program that not only serves to educate its employees regarding health risks, but actually reimburses employees for personal costs incurred by their participation in fitness programs.

According to Sandy DeHart and Marcy Cauthon, employees who serve on a committee that manages the bank’s health awareness program, the bank reimburses employees up to 75 percent of program fees for gym memberships, weight watchers, smoking cessation and other programs thought to benefit the health of the employee. There is a $200 cap on the reimbursement per employee per year. In addition to the fore mentioned programs, employees are also eligible for reimbursement of a portion of the cost for home exercise equipment.

“We had some health issues within the bank that had caused our health insurance to sky rocket by 175 percent,” Cauthon explained. “It caused us to begin to evaluate ways to promote wellness in the workplace. Having programs such as this one in place helps with insurance costs.”

In addition to the financial benefits an employee is eligible to receive through the program, Farmers and Commercial Bank also provides monthly promotions that focus on one specific health issue each month. For example, National Women’s Health Week is coming up, and local health clinic manager Debbie Robledo will be coming to the bank on May 9 to speak to employees about the importance of women’s health screenings and related issues.

The bank also offers a points program to employees in which points are earned for participating in both personal and bank-sponsored fitness events. The points are tallied, and once a certain number of points has been attained, employees are rewarded with modest gifts, such as coolers, chairs and t-shirts.

According to DeHart and Cauthon, employees frequently walk, jog or “workout” as part of the points program. The bank also holds a number of sponsored events the employees can attend to get healthy, have a good time and earn points. “It also helps the employees of all of the banks branches to get together and mingle,” DeHart said. “We really have fun with it.”

The bank has become so proactive in its desire to promote wellness that May 10 and 12, the bank is sponsoring a walk that the community is invited to participate in. The walk will begin at the bank at 8 a.m. on each of those days. “We are inviting anyone in the Holden area to come and walk with us,” Cauthon said. “We not only care about our employees’ wellness, but we care about the community’s wellness as a whole.”

As part of the wellness program, employees have been seen participating in area events and organizations such as the Holden Fall Fiesta 5K Walk and Weight Watchers. Recently, 15 bank employees participated in a 10-week challenge through weight watchers. The 15 employees lost a total of 175 pounds in the 10 weeks they participated.

According to Cauthon, the bank has seen around 35 percent of the employees participating in the program. “We’re still in the first year of this, though,” Cauthon said. “I hope to see that number increase over time.”

According to an article in American Fitness, the United States Department of Health and Human Services has strongly suggested that work sites offer employees a comprehensive health promotion program, and has set a goal that 75 percent of America’s businesses have that in place by the year 2010.

Currently among work sites with more than 750 employees, only 50 percent provide any type of health promotion program to their employees, according to the article. Smaller work sites are even less likely to offer such programs. For example, the figure drops to 38 percent for those employing 250 to 749 people, 33 percent for those employing 50 to 249 people and just 34 percent for those employing fewer than 50 people.

According to facts and figures from 42 independent studies in which work site health promotion programs were evaluated and recorded online by Larry S. Chapman, chairman and senior consultant at the Summex Corporation, those companies that have sponsored such programs have seen fairly dramatic decreases in employee absenteeism and health costs.

In 20 of the 42 studies that reported employee absenteeism, employee absences decreased by an average of 30 percent. Some companies saw decreases as high as nearly 40 percent. In addition, on the average, those companies saw a decrease of 22 percent in health insurance premiums and claims.

In the study, Chapman concluded “work site health promotion represents one of the key strategies for maintaining the productivity of American workers at a time when their average age is increasing faster than most of our global competitors.”

With the kind of numbers mentioned in Chapman’s study, Farmers and Commercial Bank is certainly well ahead of larger companies and competitors in providing such a comprehensive health awareness plan to its employees, and if research figures are correct, the bank will also see a worthwhile return on its investment in the health of its employees and community as a whole.

By Christi Stowe
News Editor

This summer, children in inner-city Houston, Texas will benefit from the compassion of a few of Holden’s youth when the Holden First Baptist Church’s youth group travels to the area on a mission trip.

According to the youth group’s leader, Mike Wakeman, six youth and a number of adult chaperones will leave for the week-long trip organized by a missons organization called Global Encounters on July 6. Once there, the youth from Holden will join forces with youth from other churches and hold Vacation Bible School (VBS) for the children there.

“We thought this would be good because the kids are familiar with VBS and how it works,” Wakeman explained. “We felt the youth could relate to VBS as far as being a teacher instead of a student. It is a good opportunity for them to take a leadership role.”

In addition to the past experiences the youth have had with VBS, Wakeman and other church leaders are preparing them for the trip by holding Youth Mission Teaching every Wednesday night. During this teaching, according to Wakeman, the youth learn how to be good witnesses of the word of God. “We prepare the kids to know how to witness and disciple to younger kids,” Wakeman said. “They learn how to present scripture in the Bible.”

In addition to holding VBS, the youth will be distributing toys, winter coats, blankets, backpacks and school supplies to the financially disadvantaged children in the inner-city Houston area. Currently, donation boxes are sitting at First Baptist Church and Fastop. The youth group is accepting donations of all the above listed items, which may be either new or slightly used. The group is also accepting cash donations, which they will use to purchase the items needed. The First Baptist Church is open Tuesday-Friday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. for donations.

“It will be a great experience for the kids,” Wakeman said. “It should be a life-changing experience, for sure.”

By Christi Stowe
News Editor

An early morning one-car accident last Saturday in Johnson County left troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol searching for the vehicle’s driver.

According to highway patrol reports, the accident occurred as a vehicle driven by Justin A. Alley, 22, of Leeton left the roadway for unknown reasons in the area of SE Road 501, 0.2 miles north of SE 1200 Road before coming to rest in a ditch.

A passenger in Alley’s vehicle, Matthew W. Chrisenderry, 19, of Warrensburg received moderate injuries in the accident and was transported to Western Missouri Medical Center by the Johnson County Ambulance.

Investigation into the cause of the accident and the driver’s whereabouts continues.

By Christi Stowe
News Editor

A 33-year-old Edwards, MO man received moderate injuries in a one-car motor vehicle accident on 50 Highway 1.2 miles west of NW 250 Road in Johnson County last Friday.

According to Missouri State Highway Patrol reports, the accident occurred as an eastbound vehicle driven by Shane M. Swanson, 33, of Edwards, MO was attempting to make a lane change, and lost control. Swanson’s vehicle left the roadway, struck an embankment and a tree before overturning several times and coming to rest on its wheels.

Swanson received moderate injuries and was transported to Research Hospital in Kansas City for treatment.

By Christi Stowe
News Editor

“Lord, I thank you for each and every man here, and I pray for your blessing upon their lives... I pray that you would let them take a walk in your light...Give these men a clear understanding that when their hearts are turned toward you, you are pleased.”

Most people would assume the fore mentioned prayer was said as part of a church service or a men’s fellowship gathering. However, to the inmates of Integrity Correctional Center (ICC), it is a commonly heard prayer that comes straight from the lips of the officers who patrol the facility.

It is 9:30 in the morning, and a number of inmates from ICC have gathered with two correctional officers and the facility’s administrator, Dave Burris, for prayer time, which occurs each day. As soft, contemporary spiritual music plays in the background, the officers and inmates spend an hour praying for one another and fellow inmates who are not present at the service.

Prayer time is not the only feature that makes ICC stand out from its fellow jails. It definitely does not take long after entering the doors of ICC to realize that it is not just a typical jail.

Located just east of Holden in the Centerview area, ICC is a 200-bed regional jail that is Christian-owned and operated. “Our mission is to value each and every person who passes through our doors, whether staff, prisoner, volunteer, government official or visitor,” a portion of ICC’s website reads. “We provide a safe, secure and humane correctional facility.”

In addition to prayer time each day, ICC offers its inmates a variety of programs including Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, adult basic education/GED classes, group and individual counseling and a number of christian-based services and programs.

ICC administrator Dave Burris said ICC’s mission is the reason he works at the facility. “I enjoy the mission,” Burris explained. “We’re here to impact the lives of the inmates in a positive way. This place was built with the sole interest of impacting the inmates’ lives in a positive way so they can change and become productive citizens, better husbands, fathers, sons, brothers and wives.”

The facility typically houses municipal offenders and inmates from other jurisdictions that did not have room to house them any longer. Most of the men and women at the facility serve very short sentences and have committed crimes that require minimum to moderate security housing. Included in the prisoner population are those who have committed traffic offenses, drug-related crimes, robberies and petty theft and other non-violent crimes.

ICC includes four buildings, two of which house the inmate dormitories, large rooms with multiple beds where the inmates spend most of their day. In addition to general population dormitories, ICC also has four segregation cells that are used to house prisoners who exhibit problem behaviors that disrupt the day-to-day operations of the jail.

The buildings of ICC are housed inside of two high security fences. The inner fence is a typical fence with razor wire at the top to ensure inmates do not try to climb it. The outer fence is a special fence that has been found during testing to be unclimbable due to the way in which it is constructed.

“The prisoners are really guarded by the inner fence,” Burris said. “The outer fence is just added security. We did that for the community.”

In addition to the fences, ICC provides direct supervision of the inmates. In other words, each dormitory has a correctional officer in it with the inmates 24 hours a day, seven days per week. The facility also utilizes 29 cameras, a number of which have pan and zoom capabilities that are manned 24 hours per day, seven days per week which means that there are two sets of eyes on each dormitory at all times.

“The advantage to direct supervision is a tremendous reduction in inmate on inmate and inmate on officer assaults and property damage,” Burris said. “Officers hear voices begin to raise and go to see what is going on. They are then able to put a stop to it.”

Burris is one of a number of employees of ICC who have the advantage of decades of experience in correctional facilities. Burris brought with him to ICC 19 years as an officer with the Jackson County Department of Corrections. In addition, other high ranking officers at ICC have worked for larger jails for ten or more years. “We’re always learning,” Burris said. “We don’t ever want to say we know everything. There is always room for improvement.”

Burris said although there is not a tracking system in place that allows them to keep a record of how many of ICC’s inmates turn their lives around after leaving ICC, he believes the programs ICC has in place work. “We see results,” Burris said. “Many of the inmates try, and some succeed. Once in awhile we get a letter back from an inmate who says he is doing well, back with his wife and going to church, etc.”

However, Burris said the facility’s desire to treat its inmates with respect should not be confused with being “dooped” or becoming a “bleeding heart.” “We train our staff to be sharp and discerning of manipulative tactics.”

Burris said a lot of the success of ICC is due to one of its most active owners, Bernie Zarda. “He’s an awesome man of God,” Burris said of Zarda. “He’s a good business man with a tremendous amount of integrity... It’s neat to have a leader who always takes the high road.”

Part of ICC’s efforts to treat the prisoners with respect includes providing good meals and frequent laundry service. ICC provides three hot meals per day for the inmates, and laundry is circulated three times per week, allowing the inmates to change their clothes daily. Linens are changed on the inmate bunks one time per week.

The inmates are allowed one hour of recreation per day in either an outdoor recreation area or an indoor gymnasium during times of inclement weather. A weight lifting area is not provided for the inmates. “Getting out in the fresh air helps their mood,” Burris explained.

Restricted television viewing is also allowed for the inmates, which includes eight channels provided by the facility from Dish Network and 16 stations provided to the facility free of charge by Sky Angel, a Christian television network. Burris said the inmates are not allowed to watch television programs that he feels promote violence or hostile feelings. One program prohibited by Burris is the Jerry Springer Show. In addition, if the inmates behave appropriately all week long, movies with a rating of G, PG or PG-13 are rented for each dormitory to view on Friday and Saturday nights.

Burris is not the only person who feels ICC provides an environment conducive to rehabilitation. The inmates of ICC seem to agree.

“This place is a lot better than other jails,” one inmate explained. “It’s like the Hilton compared to other facilities.” The inmate said he feels being at ICC has helped him a lot, and he feels the facility is cleaner than others he has been in previously.

editor’s note: The inmate mentioned above is one of three inmates who will be released from ICC in the next several months. All three volunteered to be interviewed for this story.
inmates interviewed said they have learned a lot from “Teen Challenge,” a discipleship training course offered in the evening by ICC’s full-time chaplain. In addition, several of the inmates said “Celebrate Recovery,” a christian-based 12-step program that meets at the jail twice weekly, has equipped them with the tools they need to succeed in the real world upon their release from jail.

“They don’t treat you like an inmate, more like a human being,” one inmate commented, “and, all the people coming in from the outside (for programs) help you cope with what it will be like on the outside. If a program is one or two hours long, that is one or two hours I am not thinking like a criminal.”

All three of the inmates interviewed have families and children waiting for them at home. One inmate spoke very candidly about what he hopes to accomplish upon his release from ICC. “I want to spend my time being a good father figure to my kids,” he said. “That’s my main goal.”

Another inmate, who has grown children and grandchildren at home, said he uses his experiences as an example for the children in his life. “I tell them to think before they do anything,” he said. “I say ‘Every time you think of doing anything, think about where I’m at.”

ICC is currently in the application process for accreditation through the American Correctional Association (ACA). Currently, St. Louis County Correctional Facility is the only correctional facility in the entire State of Missouri that is ACA Accredited.

The facility has was constructed in the Centerview area in the year 2000. There has never been an escape or major event that has happened at ICC.

By Christi Stowe
News Editor