by Nick Beres
MCMINNVILLE, Tenn. - The Warren County jail sewage system is under repair after inmates revolted over an item missing from the cafeteria menu.
"They had run out of hot dogs for mealtime and so the inmates got upset. They were flushing basically anything they could down the commodes," said Anthony Pelham, a contract engineer for the county.
Crews were working to removed debris from a badly damaged sewage pump at the jail. Items like papers, socks, plastics and other scraps or garbage you might find behind bars were all flushed by inmates in protest of no hot dogs.
Most jails like the one in Warren county have special sewage grinders to liquefy the foreign debris. Pelham said the inmates overwhelmed the system by flushing debris all at once.
"Just a form of nuisance - anything they can do to cause trouble," said Pelham.
A new part is on order to fix the pump and until it arrives the jail is off the McMinnville city sewage system. The sheriff's office has paid to have the raw sewage hauled away from the jail septic tanks. It's either that ... or the sewage could back up into the jail cells. That's an idea concerned citizen Marla Atherton kind of likes.
"Tell the inmates to live with it and clean it up. Like they say, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. If you can't clean up you own messes then don't make them," said Atherton.
That won't happen for several legal reasons. Raw sewage inside the jail would effect not only the inmates, but the sheriff and jail staff as well. The problem is expected to be fixed by next week. Engineers estimate the cost at a few thousand dollars.
In an interesting twist, NewsChannel 5 learned the jail did run out of hot dogs and buns, but still served corn dogs. The inmates apparently felt that was an unsatisfactory replacement.
The flushing of debris in jail is not unique to Warren County. Sheriffs across Middle Tennessee said it's a common problem among inmates, and unfortunately, without 24-hour surveillance there's no way to stop it, which is why many jails have sewage grinders.
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