The dispute over the jail's leadership continues as the jail faces a major expansion.
By RICK GERSHMAN
Published September 1, 2005
BROOKSVILLE - On Wednesday afternoon, Thomas "Denny" Durbin, Hernando County Jail's third warden in as many months, discussed his role at the facility.
Later that day, he learned exactly what Hernando County officials want his role to be:
Ex-warden.
County Administrator Gary Adams has requested that Corrections Corporation of America remove Durbin as warden, citing two main reasons in a Tuesday letter to CCA's corporate offices.
Adams noted his understanding that Durbin also is serving as warden of Bay County Jail in Panama City, where he still lives, though he reportedly took over as Hernando warden more than a month ago.
"Such an arrangement is unacceptable to Hernando County," Adams wrote.
Adams also cited "recent news articles relative to Mr. Durbin's past history" with the Bay County facility.
One article stated that Durbin resigned as Bay County warden in December, a week after a state report at least partly blamed a September 2004 inmate takeover on broken locks that went unrepaired although they had been reported.
That incident ended with the shooting of two inmates and a jail nurse; all survived.
CCA officials said Wednesday they had not yet received Adams' letter and did not know county officials wanted Durbin ousted until told so by a Times reporter.
Officials at the local jail deferred to their corporate offices when asked for comment.
"We have read a copy of this letter from the (St. Petersburg Times), (but) our preference is that we would want to respond directly to (Hernando County officials) before we make any public comment," CCA spokesman Steve Owen said Wednesday evening. "That's the way we do business."
But the way CCA does business has been a concern to Jim Gantt, the county's purchasing and contracts director and liaison to the jail, in recent months.
A particular sore spot has been the position of warden, which CCA calls "chief correctional officer."
Less than 10 weeks ago, CCA removed Ellen Hawks from the post after a tenure of less than two years.
Though CCA would not say specifically why Hawks was ousted, the jail had come under fire after allowing the extradition of two women to the U.S. Virgin Islands without following proper protocol.
CCA replaced Hawks with Arvil "Butch" Chapman, but county officials considered him too inexperienced for the job. So in July, the company named Durbin to the post and retained Chapman as the assistant warden.
However, county officials and CCA disagreed on the arrangement. While CCA's Owen said Durbin was a temporary replacement until Chapman got more seasoning, Gantt made it clear Durbin needed to be in charge:
"Durbin will be in charge of the facility," Gantt said in July. "He is not being appointed as a temporary chief corrections officer."
But in mid August, CCA asked Durbin for help at Bay County because that jail's warden, Kevin Watson, had just left after a series of scandals there. Watson preceded Hawks as the Hernando County Jail warden.
The Hernando jail's warden-go-round comes at a time when the jail is undergoing a massive expansion project.
Earlier Wednesday, before learning of Adams' letter, Durbin, Chapman and Hernando County Jail spokeswoman Cathie Sullivan joined a Times reporter and photojournalist for an interview and a tour of the jail.
Those discussions indicated Durbin's role at the Hernando jail is more advisory than hands-on.
Durbin acknowledged he has been back and forth from Brooksville to Panama City, though some of those trips were for medical appointments, he said. He said he stays in a hotel when he is in Hernando County and had no immediate plans to move here.
Durbin's business card still has a Panama City address, while Chapman's card still states his position as "Warden." During the interview, Durbin deferred many questions to Chapman, who acknowledged he is "doing most of the day-to-day administrating."
"I think the public should feel good about the efforts that we're making," Chapman said. "We're increasing the staff, and we're making every effort to assure that we don't have inappropriate releases, we don't have escapes."
Asked about how he was resolving problems the jail had faced before his tenure, Durbin immediately talked about Chapman. "One thing Butch has done is clean it up significantly," Durbin said. "He's kept contraband down, and any time you have a remodel(ing) you're going to have contraband. He's done a very good job."
