Welcome back everybody to Midday Magazine for this Wednesday, February 5th, 2025.
Have your host James here. We're joined by our friends from Wisconsin
Rabbits Community Media and our good friend, Chair of Sean Becker, is with us right now.
Sean, got another half an hour here to hang out. Where do you want to start?
We had a pair walk through our new jail. We're just talking off air.
You know, we're the project is and we're really close to moving in.
And that started, you know, the project itself.
I mean, there's stressful moments as you went through.
But now as you see how close we are and it's coming down just a couple of little things.
It's like, okay, it's not only happening, it's happened.
You know, and again, I always reflect on what it took to get there.
And it's always something to say about teamwork and then all of our elected officials, not only county board,
everybody that looked at it and saw the need and got out in the community and explained the need.
And now we're here and all the tours that we've done the last couple of years.
It's just been really enlightening and very proud of our community that stood up and not only supported it,
but then it even came in to tour everything.
And like I said, it's getting down to just making sure all the locking mechanisms for the doors.
Are working, you know, and you have to, one thing that I think is stressed, you know, people out,
you have to count on other vendors to get the project done.
And now when it gets this close, it's like, all right, come on, hurry up.
Get it done. Get it done.
But you know, we've waited, you know, 20 or a couple of decades.
It's not more to get where we're at.
And I've told people and I even told myself, I'm like, all right, what's another week?
You know, I mean, it's going to be so.
When we don't have to write with Packet, check anymore, which is carried around the corner.
I mean, that's a big deal because every month we're spending, you know, just with transport costs, close to $100,000.
You know, so I mean, that's going to be, you know, offer table, but, you know, just, you know, and for the employees, the staff.
And, you know, when can we move in and, you know, and getting this close is pretty huge.
But starting with what I said, our GL chap and Lonnie Salgy wanted to put together a prayer walkthrough.
You know, with members of our community that are part of clergy's, you know, different denominations that wanted just to come in.
And, you know, walk around each floor and prayer for the facility.
The people are going to be in it.
You know, that they're there for making mistakes in their life and they're now in custody.
But just to pray for them to, you know, once they get released, they don't come back.
That was a big part of, you know, what everybody was talking about and then, you know, walking through the facility.
And then praying for the staff.
You know, I was taken back by what, you know, some of the people were saying.
And then just brings back that community support that's out there at many different levels.
And it's very, very proud of Lonnie for putting this together.
I've never done something like that before.
But it just kind of gives us a time to reflect on.
Like for me, what I took to get somewhere that, you know, we're told we'll never happen in our careers.
And here we are, you know, you know, it's just a very proud moment for not just the sheriff's department, but I think, you know, the community.
Agreed.
Just a second, everything you're saying there.
And it's very exciting, very happy for them getting so much closer to the moving in part of this and everything.
Curious about when you talk about the inmates that are in the pack and some of that.
Will those inmates be being transferred back to here?
And how does that work?
Well, that'll be a good Ted Ashback question.
No, we've got a plan for that.
I think that we'll probably either, you know, do it in shifts where we'll get as many.
Because we have about 75 people there.
We have an average that we pay for.
So that's not going to be something, you know, very easy, whether we, you know, work it out with buses.
But that's in the works on.
Because that's a priority.
That's what I would like to see bringing those inmates back first.
Because now we're not paying will pack up.
And then maybe that's how we kind of work our way into the new facility.
Because you have four floors.
And, you know, maybe we won't utilize one right away.
But hey, let's get, you know, the second and third floor working with, you know, that's 75.
And then start bringing people over from, you know, our current facility.
But once we get the, okay, it's going to happen, it's going to happen fast.
And, you know, our staff will, you know, they're getting ready for it.
We're training them to, you know, that's another factor that we have to, you know, look at is, all right, is the staff ready.
And I believe they are.
But it's like I said, it's completely different facility from what they're working in right now.
But it's a, once we get operational, it's going to be easier.
I mean that we have, you know, we can see everybody from the command post that are within the facility.
We're now, our corrections officer put on a lot of foot traffic because every half hour, they're checking on inmates.
If they're in a mental health watch, it's less.
It's every 15 minutes.
And that means you're walking down and looking into a cell.
With this new facility with the pod design, you're seeing right in there from the, from the camp command post.
I, um, I appreciate those kind of notes, especially for many in the community that, you know, God willing,
they don't have to necessarily go to the jail.
So they might not see some of these.
But we are looking always appreciate tours and things like that and people being able to take it in.
I, I admit a couple of things here.
First and foremost, I was, I, I've talked with you in the audience many times about my past and my family's past.
I have shared that I am a hyper empath.
I was diagnosed with that with, like, as a kid.
So I admit that I come to this topic a little differently.
And first and foremost to me, what matters is the you and the officers safety and the people that are working there.
Um, that by far and away.
But I will say one other part of this that I find is a very big part of this.
You mentioned that these inmates from will pack are coming back here.
Most of these inmates are, are Wisconsin rapids residents, which means their family is here.
And you know this better than I do.
But, uh, as a kid, my father in and out.
And, and when I was a kid in Illinois and this would happen, we'd have to go to Cook County or something like that.
Um, we didn't know if we're going to get to see him that day.
There may be, it may be open to be able to.
But there was no, there was no, uh, if there was going to be room for us to be able to walk in to see him and some of those things.
When my father was in the rapids jail, we were able to see him every time.
And we were able to do that.
And that was integral, not just for my family to survive that time.
But for my father to get to where he is now.
Sure.
Um, to where he finally came back around for these inmates to be back in town.
This is not the biggest part of this story or anything like that.
But you and I are very first conversation about stopping this revolving door of inmates.
Part of how you stop that is them having a connection, a support system.
Yeah.
And not thinking that this is the end.
What do I got to lose?
That's the last thing we want.
And having them being closer to their family and being able to do those things is going to, by the, by average, by the stats and loan is going to lead to more of that revolving door stopping.
There's so many layers to this that I don't think we've even noticed yet or been able to it because we're not experiencing it.
We're not seeing it in real time.
We'll be able to.
This is just a positive on many, many levels.
And again, don't want to take lightly and skate past the safety issue or anything.
That's first and foremost in my heart and most people's.
But man, I got to say that these other part of these things here, we're going to see the dividends of it.
We're going to see and I don't think you can put a price tag on some of that.
No, you're right.
And I appreciate you speaking from personal experience because a lot of people don't share that.
There's the hurt of having a loved one in custody no matter what they did.
And you do see some situations that are very unfortunate that family is not there.
And we don't have that foundation at home.
Then you do see that revolving door that you bring up.
And it's hard for a family to, like you've expressed.
When you don't get the opportunity to see a loved one incarcerated, that hurts a family too.
And sometimes that's what it takes for somebody to change as well.
It might take a while, but if people don't give up on somebody within their family,
whether it's a parent or a child or niece, nephew, cousin,
if you have that foundation, I think that's an opportunity for somebody to build upon while they're in custody
and to return to the community to still have some support.
I've seen it before where the family is at their what's end and they decide to walk.
And maybe there's a reason for that.
I'm sure in that individual's mind that there is.
I understand that to some level, but look at the path it might take.
But maybe somebody, and again, we've talked a lot about mental health drug abuse,
how much that is combined, and how much that affects people.
And I've seen parents say, I've done everything.
And then you look at the path it takes, and then that individual has to look at that and say,
and I hope that's a trigger mechanism for that person to say,
all right, I've got to try something else because I'm hurting people, and especially my family.
Now, what opportunities do I have while I'm in custody to help me change my path?
And that's where I think that throughout the years, and we've talked about it,
that the inmate programming that we're continuing to invest in,
I think we'll pay the dividends out as we move forward in the future.
And when you see somebody out in the community that is being successful,
for me, that's a win, and then you look at what we're talking about right now,
look at the win that is for a family.
If you've got somebody that's taken advantage of the inmate programming,
the NAA working with three bridges, working on with their counselors that are available,
our jail discharge planner, you put all those things, and that's just a small part of this.
And as somebody's willing to do that while they're in custody, and they go on and become successful,
we're all winner there, and then you look at the impact,
like you just explained a few minutes ago how that happened,
has a positive impact on a family when you have somebody that's been incarcerated,
returns to the community, works, starts providing for not just themselves, but their family.
That's awesome.
That means we did our job on the correction side of things,
and as far as not just the sheriff's firm, but everything else that we connect to
whether it's human services or other outreach programs that want to come into the jail to help.
That's a huge win for all of us.
And these individuals that commit these crimes, accountability is incredibly important,
and they need to do what they need to do to make that right.
But the families didn't do anything.
The families of the kids especially didn't do anything, and I didn't plan on this,
but bringing this up and talking about it triggered something in me,
where I got Terry, I think about my little sister not being able to see your father and things like that.
She didn't do anything wrong.
So the act of being able to do this has such a deeper impact than the individual that is serving time.
There are other victims, there are other people, I don't like to use that word,
but there are other people affected by this.
So by these individuals being back in town,
you're not just helping those individuals and them have a better life.
You're not just helping your community and making future taxpayers or anything.
But we're preventing future trauma.
I mean, there's so many layers to this that is important to have this jail in place.
You said at trauma, how that affects everybody differently,
and that affects a family.
Like you said, your sister, that's something that you or your sister are never going to forget.
However, seeing the success of your father now is something that to be very proud of.
You know, you could put, it's not behind you, it's there,
but look what it took to get here.
My father is one of the most boring people you will meet now.
I love it, I love it.
I love him for it.
I love it.
I'm geared to you right now.
He's playing with his baseball cards.
It's exactly what he's doing right now.
Nothing wrong with that.
No, none of them.
None of them are done there.
I don't still do it.
No bias at all to them.
Where do you want to go next, sir?
Doug Christianson, he's been on the show before he was retiring.
Yeah, I heard about that.
Yeah, he let me know last week.
And it was pretty emotional.
He got hired shortly after I did at the Sheriff's Department.
Started his career at the State Patrol.
I'll try to get him here next month just before,
because his last date is going to be the 18th of March.
I know it wasn't an easy decision for him,
but families first,
and unfortunately cops don't live long after they retire.
So I think he's got a really good plan of what's next.
I'm very proud of him for a lot of things.
And I brought him up on the show before,
on the foundation that has been laid in regards to mental health
and law enforcement.
When I had a previous position before Sheriff,
he was kind of a pain.
But we had some things changed in the system
with mental health and law enforcement and commitments,
and he really struggled with it,
and he didn't stop.
And what he did is really brought training to our department.
We talk about CAT and how we do that every year,
and at least in the patrol side of things,
we're trying to get all of our corrections officers
through that training, because I believe in it.
I've been through it, but that foundation of the start of it
really came from Doug.
I remember the first train that we sent him to.
This is a long time ago.
He's struggling.
I talked to some people in crisis about,
hey, what can we do to change something?
We sent them to a training with a bunch of social workers.
And he didn't identify as a law enforcement officer,
and he got the opportunity to hear how social workers felt
about law enforcement on the mental health realm of things,
and listened to how they complained about us.
And then towards the end of the training,
he said, well, I'm a law enforcement officer,
and then I think people got quiet.
That's kind of the foundation of at least the train aspect
of it, so in the system, all right,
we might get frustrated with crisis
and the social workers that are part of that,
but then look it on the flip side,
how they're frustrated with us.
And then that built into CIT.
You went to over to the Appleton area to CIT,
and he came back with just all these awesome ideas.
And then we started sending people to CIT,
and now we have our own CIT program.
And I'm very proud of that, because it brings in
how we can work with the community that helps us recognize
when people are going through a mental health crisis.
And there's also a big aspect of it
of the authored wellness piece as well.
It's a 40-hour training that is so worth it
where we partner with NAMI and many members of the community,
and that's grown and very proud of Doug.
And then Katie says is who we worked with, really,
to build our CIT program and our mental health connection
into the community with law enforcement.
And what did it lead to?
Around four years ago, we got a legacy grant
that we wrote to add a position at the Sheriff's Department
and have a mental health deputy, basically,
an investigator that's assigned to mental health.
And through the community and also our wellness.
And we still have that position today,
and he let that foundation to it,
that it's going to be tough for somebody to step into.
But he really made the position work,
got involved with a lot of boards like Mary's Place.
And that's just one thing.
I mean, he's got out in the community
and has been just a heck of a resource for, you know,
just the piece of law enforcement and mental health.
You know, we talked about the stigma about it
and how we've been doing.
I think a great job breaking that stigma.
It's okay to get help.
I've done it. I'm proud to say it.
And I know he has.
And he's one of the resources that our departments had
for several years, so we're going to miss him,
but I'm very proud of the career path he took
with an organization because I really think
it brought about change, you know,
within law enforcement and mental health
and how we do things.
When we deal with those, you know, welfare checks
and then, you know, connecting people to the resources
out in the community that are struggling
because everybody does.
Yeah.
I don't use the word lightly, but a trailblazer.
A true trailblazer in this regard.
And part of the reason individuals like him
where we are now with this topic,
where we're talking more about mental health,
and we're not talking about it in a hushed voice,
and some of those things.
You need people like that.
Yeah.
Specifically, people in power's strong positions
to be able to do that.
When we see people like that doing things,
we are much more inclined to listen and hear things out.
That's a great legacy, a great career.
Yeah.
I know the foundation that he's part of will be felt,
you know, even after it's time for me to retire,
I don't see even with a leadership change
that people walk away from because you can't.
Yeah.
You know, it's grown so much within, you know,
our profession that you can't ignore,
and it's a big component of it.
Well, sir.
Yeah.
Rapping up with Sheriff Sean Becker,
just a couple of moments left, sir.
And I wanted to bring up the news broke recently
that Lincoln had football coach, Tony Biola,
is going to be retiring.
Certainly a big name in this area for a long time,
and I know he meant a lot to you.
He means a lot to you.
I don't want to say anything.
Yeah.
He sure does.
Yeah.
That's a tough one.
You know, he gave me the opportunity 10 years
to go to be part of his team, the coaching staff,
and we go back many, many years to college.
You know, we came into UWSP the same year.
Both went and tried out for football,
and that's when the relationship really continued,
and it was really, really awesome to see
that he got hired at Lincoln High School,
as a fire teacher, and then, you know,
here I'm in Wood County, and then, you know,
my wife wasn't really happy when I made the commitment
to coach, but because of the time commitment, however,
she knew where the passion was,
and it's something that, you know, I love to do
and to be part of, and, you know,
I knew that the time would come, you know,
but that's his decision to make,
and, you know, he's done a huge thing
for this community, and, you know,
you just look at all the kids that he coached.
I know he said Coach had believed 19 years,
but it goes beyond that.
I mean, especially when you're a teacher,
and you're involved in athletics,
you're going to connect with a lot of kids,
and, you know, I'm really happy for him.
You know, I know it probably wasn't an easy decision for him.
You know, I thought towards the end of the season,
you know, I couldn't put a percentage on it,
but I'm sure it was a consideration, maybe,
that it was time to move forward, or come back.
You know, I don't think he just wants to hand over the program
to just anybody.
I think he's given somebody by making this announcement now,
some of the opportunity to come in for the district
to find to get, you know, some time prepare for next season,
because I think it means a lot to him,
but I know he's still going to coach track,
and he's still heavily involved with powerlifting,
but no, it's still fresh to it with me, you know,
that, okay, it's here, and he's moving, moving on.
You know, for me, I don't know what is in store for me
as far as coaching.
You know, I've got to, you know, put a lot of thought into it.
It might be time for me to at least take a little bit of time
in the fall, and the biggest reason why is my daughter, Jordan.
You know, she's expecting, you know, we're expecting
our first grandchild.
Yeah.
So she's set, or I don't know if you want to say set.
She's, um, delivery time is sometime in July.
I think mid July.
So, I mean, that's on the table.
So, um, I was probably going to step aside for at least
the time being, and, but getting back to Tony.
I mean, it's just, I'm very proud of the career that he's had.
And then ending the season, how we did this year was pretty awesome.
He'll us to back to badge game, and we win it with the last second,
you know, touchdown.
I mean, a hundredth win.
What a way to go.
I was going to say, if you're going to go, I mean, you know,
that might help a little bit of making the decision to everything.
Just boy, what a game to go out of.
Yeah.
Well, moments I was fantastic.
Honestly, before he made the announcement, because I saved the
clip on, on my Facebook page, and I just, I watched it,
and I'm like, yeah, that was just an awesome moment.
And an awesome work, an awesome legacy for him.
It ain't great for any of you going anywhere.
We'll still see him around and talk to him.
I'm appreciation to him and appreciation to you, your team
over there.
Appreciate you guys so much.
Yeah.
Safe travels out there.
Thank you so much for the time again.
And we'll talk again next month, sir.
Sounds like a plan.
Big thank you to our friends at Wisconsin Rapids Community Media
again, as well.
We appreciate the work that they do.
We'll have more Midday Magazine coming up for you right here
at 975 FM 1320 AM WFHR, locally grown radio.
