Whited, 33, has a good job and his life is on track with help through the Etowah County Community Corrections work-release program.

Whited is one of the first participants in a work-release program that began in February in Etowah County.

After he completed his sentence imposed by the Etowah County courts, which included the work-release program, he was released from jail and continued his job at Rigid Building Systems.

He now is a supervisor and oversees eight employees at the manufacturing facility.

"He's a leader," said Chris Campana, general manager at Rigid. "He performs well and is very conscientious."

Whited shared his story this week when the officials with Community Corrections honored judges, employers and jail officials who have contributed to the program's success.

"I was in (Substance Abuse Program) prior to work release," Whited said. "I'm very fortunate to have the help that was given to me."

Whited said the substance-abuse program prepared him for work release.

"When you get in trouble and you're locked up, you don't know where you're going to turn," he said.

But the program turned his life around, he said.

He said he owed the Internal Revenue Service and is now paying that back.

"I've got my driver's license back. I've got health insurance. I've repaired a lot of relationships," he said. "I'm blessed to have been given this opportunity."

It's an opportunity that Circuit Judge David Kimberley believes will be available for many others.

There are now 13 inmates at the Etowah County jail that have been involved in the work-release program.

The majority are success stories like Whited's.

Kimberley said 35 to 50 beds are expected to be available next year when a work-release center opens in the old Alabama Fabrics building next to the Etowah County judicial building.

"These are inmates that were sitting in a jail cell," Kimberley said. "It took a negative and turned it into a positive. When they finish their sentence, they stay on the job. If they don't have skills or a job, they're more likely to get in trouble again."

The work-release program has guidelines for which inmates qualify.

Those in the program cannot be charged with a violent or sex-related crime, Kimberley said.

It's designed for someone charged with a property or minor drug crime, he said.

"We don't take the attitude that they're beyond help or that their life is beyond salvageable," he said.

Stories like Whited's make Johnny Fielding, who oversees the work-release program at the Etowah County jail, proud of the work of the program.

"This is what it's all about," said Fielding, who was recognized along with Chief of Corrections Scott Hassell and Sheriff Todd Entrekin.

"We give them the tools, but it's up to the inmates to take those tools and make something of it," Fielding said. "Overall, we've had good success with it. We've turned a lot of lives around."

A $25 supervision fee is deducted from their paycheck each month. Any inmate who has any debts owed to the county will have that amount deducted also.

An inmate pays 25 percent of the paycheck to the Etowah County Commission for cost of room and board.

The circuit clerk's office gets 20 percent of a paycheck for court costs, fines, fees and restitution ordered by the court, and the remaining 55 percent of the paycheck is paid to the inmate or a family member.

Since February, the Etowah County Commission has received about $26,742; the circuit clerk's office, about $21,394; and inmates have made about $58,835.

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