Joining the story
Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston wants Rhinoceros Times scribe Scott Yost to serve on a new county committee looking at ways to reduce the jail population.
Yost argued in a recent story that the county should explore more incarceration alternatives before moving ahead with plans for a new jail.
That sounded good to Alston, who says the county doesn't need the facility, so he convened a panel discussion Wednesday and invited Yost to participate.
The writer acted as sort of half-journalist, half-anti-incarceration activist, taking notes on the meeting while contributing to the discussion. He even read an excerpt from a story that was to be published the next day.
"I'm really glad Skip called this meeting," Yost told the group.
A couple summers ago, Yost followed two commissioners on a conference trip to Hawaii. Scoop feels confident that Yost will push for some committee meetings to be held there, if only because he knows the area so well.
The first meeting of the committee, which will include commissioners and community leaders, is scheduled for Feb. 19.