Xmas Eve 1963 – Jim Sheets’ Memory of The Silver Street Jail

I had been working as a volunteer “special deputy” sheriff since turning 21
in March. I was a student at Ohio Wesleyan and worked as a dispatcher
and jailor. I would also ride along with the road deputies, mostly at night,
as a backup and help keep them awake. You get to know a person fairly
well wandering the roads, hills and “hollers” with a cop, after midnight, in a
patrol car. I too was a cop with a gun and a badge but didn’t really
consider myself a “real” cop. I was just 21 and a college kid.

Jim Sheets, 1963

It was Xmas eve in 1963 and I had volunteered to do both the midnight
and morning shift as dispatcher and jailor so the guys with kids and
families could go about their holiday. I’m sure there was at least one road
deputy on call…we were hoping for a slow night and it was. I had a
couple of radios to monitor, telephones to answer and one prisoner in the
jail and not much of a prisoner at that.

Silver Street Jail, The Warren County Centennial Atlas, 1903

Archie Quinton Knight was the only “guest” that night. I say guest
because I don’t think he was an actual prisoner. More of a hobo from
either Kentucky or Tennessee. This was, I think, his third Xmas in the
Warren Co. Jail. His first two years were earned as he would get drunk
somewhere or break a window somewhere to get noticed. It always got
him “three hots and a cot” in the cold Ohio winter. Finally the Sheriff and
Judge somehow decided the justice would be best served if Archie would
simply show up at the jail for a stay without passing through a court and
without getting drunk and breaking windows. This is what today we call
“win-win”.

Silver Street Jail, 2017

By that time Archie had become a “trusty” and would do chores around
the building, run some errands and make coffee. His cell wasn’t locked. If
we locked him out he would just start getting drunk and breaking windows
so as to get himself locked back “in”. A persistent little cuss.
It was about 0400 and all through the jail the radios were hissing and the
telephones weren’t ringing. Altogether an excellent Xmas morning in the
Warren Co. Jail. I heard Xmas carols with a guitar accompanying. I went
back to the cells and invited Archie to join me for Xmas morning coffee.
That turned into a regular thing and that is how I learned to play the guitar.
Jim Sheets

Cell inside Silver Street Jail, 2015

To Shred or not to Shred! Records and Information Month at Warren County

It’s finally Records and Information Management Month! In celebration, we are highlighting Warren County’s behind the scenes efforts to keep our records and information management cycling. Today we are talking about the destruction process.

As mentioned in one of our blogs from last year, once a record has hit its retention cycle, it might need an RC-3 (certificate of destruction) or CO (court order) for destruction. This information is relayed to me (the Records Manager*), an RC-3 or CO is created, and then signed by the department head or elected official before destruction or disposal can take place.

At Warren County we conduct on-site destructions every three weeks and when needed in case of special requests.  Having our records destruction done on-site keeps the county accountable to ensure that any sensitive or confidential materials are disposed of in the most secure manner.

Frank W. assisting in our April shred.

Records Assistant Ted Hitchens assisting in the April shred.

Onsite shredding with our vendor.

Already in 2019 we have conducted five on-site shreds and one special media shred. Special media means electronic, audiovisual media and over-sized books that cannot be shredded in the on-site truck.  These are taken off-site with our vendor and also disposed of confidentially. The on-site shreds alone have disposed of 30,000lbs of paper, helping keep the records and information cycle moving at Warren County.

 

*Guest blogger, Records Manager/Archivist Jen Haney Conover

It’s Records and Information Management Month!

Did you know that April is Records and Information Management (RIM) Month? Here in Warren County we promote proper records management all year long, not just in April. Now, if you’re scratching your head trying to figure out what that means, don’t worry! You’re not alone.

RIM month was started nationally in 2002 to promote records management standards and best practices while also emphasizing the importance of organized information. The archives and preservation side of the Records Center is much more visual to the public, whereas records management is much more behind the scenes, but just as important! As the county records manager*, outside of managing the department, records and information management is a big part of my responsibilities.

Records storage temporary storage for records

 

We keep all kinds of records for county departments. A record is defined as any document, device, or item, regardless of its form, that serves to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of an office.  Each record is recognized on a retention schedule, commonly known as an RC-2. This schedule then determines how long a record should be kept depending on whether it has administrative, fiscal, legal or historical value.

The county follows a general retention schedule (GRS) and each department has their own RC-2. These are especially important because not every record should or needs to be kept long term. By staying current with departments’ retention schedules, we save valuable tax payer dollars through the proper destruction of records after they have hit their retention period. In turn this reduces operating expenses and cuts back on the cost of unnecessary storage of inactive records.

Certificate of Destruction for Sheriff’s Department Records in 2017

Once records are ready for destruction, a certificate of destruction (RC-3) or court order for disposal  is required to be submitted to the Records Center for most items. Once this happens, then proper destruction of records can happen, which we conduct onsite.  All of these steps are instrumental in order to keep the flow of records and information management moving.

 

Onsite Records Destruction in March 2018

 

*Guest blogger: County Records Manager, Jen Haney Conover