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As the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on nearly every aspect of our lives over the past two years, it's allowed us to take a look at some of the people who are critical to our society but may have been overlooked in the past.
Today, we want to shine a spotlight on corrections officers.
To most people, it's a foregone conclusion that those who are caught committing crimes go to jail and those who are convicted are often sent to prison.
We are afforded great peace in knowing the people who are most likely to harm us are in a place where their ability to do so is greatly diminished.
But why is that?
It's because there is a group of brave men and women willing to work as corrections officers who not only supervise the inmates, they also put themselves in danger on a daily basis -- perhaps even in life-threatening situations -- because there are some inmates who spend a majority of their time thinking of ways to "get back" at the officers by injuring or killing them.
That tragically happened here in Blair County when corrections officer Rhonda Russell of Tyrone was killed in November when a male inmate disarmed her during a struggle at the Central Court building, leaving her family and community stricken with grief.
Like many vital jobs in society, the number of people going to work in the field is dwindling. At the same time, the number of inmates in America's jails and prisons seems only to be growing. This is a real problem that needs a real solution.
We need to find ways to convince more qualified people to enter this line of work, including improving their wages.
Without them, we don't have jails and prisons and we as a society would be a lot less safe as a result. Corrections officers are often at risk as or more often than even police officers, but very rarely do you hear any praise being directed at them.
We want to do our part to change that. We salute the dangerous, important work corrections officers do and want to let them know they are appreciated for what they do to keep the rest of us safe.
Your work is far from easy, and not just for you but for your family who may worry about you. But our criminal justice system could not function without you.
Thank you all for what you do.