A plan to improve recreation facilities for Jones County youngsters will be getting a jump-start courtesy of a work crew comprised of state prisoners as a result of the intervention of State Rep. Jim Cole.

Jones County Administrator Mike Underwood said the Georgia Department of Corrections construction crew will be in Jones County beginning July 13 and work will begin on grading and drainage improvements at the Central Recreation Complex July 20.

A ground-breaking ceremony will be held at the complex located on Highway 18 East at 3 p.m. next Monday, July 13.

Underwood said the crew will work four 10-hour days per week for an unspecified amount of time. He said primarily the construction crew will be leveling a 65-acre tract at the recreation complex, which is the first step toward the expansion of the site.

Plans for additional baseball, football, and soccer fields were drawn by Jones County’s Recreation Committee headed by Jamie Huckeba and were approved by the Board of Commissioners.

“The committee sat down with engineer Tim Ingram and determined what was needed for the expansion. The final plans were signed by the commissioners and committee members,” Underwood said.

The administrator said Cole was instrumental in bringing the Department of Corrections construction crew to Jones County again.

“We were able to set this up last year. The Department of Corrections works all over the state and helped us with the construction of Liberty Park,” he said.

Board of Commissioners Chairman Preston Hawkins said the county would not have the help of the corrections crew without Cole’s help.

“We would have to take our crew off road projects or contract it out. He is helping to save the county many thousands of dollars,” he said.

Hawkins compared the amount of grading and drainage work that needs to be done at the recreation complex to the work done on Homer Roberts Road that cost $312,000.

“They are going to be moving 230,000 cubic yards of dirt,” he said.

Underwood said, when the state crew is done, the county will do as much as it can with the money available for the project.

“I’m not sure when we will be finished, but one thing for sure, we can’t finish until we get started,” he said.

Cole said he is glad to help with Jones County’s recreation because it is a project close to his heart. In his life before becoming a representative, Cole attended Mercer University on an academic and athletic scholarship and played baseball for the college. After graduating with honors, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers and played professional baseball until an injury ended his athletic career.

“This project has been at the top of my list for a long time,” he said.

Cole said the community outreach of the Department of Corrections labor pool is not well publicized.

“They will be bringing in heavy equipment. The Department of Corrections has been very kind allowing me to submit projects. This is a project we got to them a year ago. It’s a big project and took awhile to arrange, and it will truly be a huge savings to the county,” he said.

Cole said the commissioners have been able to move up the timetable of the recreation project because of the help of the Department of Corrections. He said Department of Corrections Commissioner Brian Owens and Department head Bob Plemons get a lot of request for the labor pool and are always a joy to work with.

Cole said with 55,000 men and women incarcerated in Georgia prisons, it is natural to have a lot of a lot of skills among them.

“The main reason for the construction crew, however; is to try to teach skills to the inmates so they can get a good job when they are released and cut down on recidivism,” he said. “To me, this is an unbelievable program.”

The representative said it will be exciting to see Jones County have new recreation facilities, and he pointed out the project would not be possible without the commitment of the Board of Commissioners.

“I’m happy to be part of the team,” he added.