What he was saying was: "Any fundamental treatment of the prison [jail] population necessarily requires treatment of the underlying causes of their incarceration."  The Jail Ministries treats the underlying cause of the jail population and represents a group of dedicated volunteers performing significant work for the County and its Sheriff.

      It is often said that the Sheriff does not work for Commissioner's Court.  But the Sheriff does get his money from this Court.  And so one can easily see how each must work with each other.

      The number one rule in dealing with Commissioner's Court is to know how to count to three.  The number two rule is to develop a good working relationship with the Sheriff.  As Commissioners, we must honor both of these rules.

      Working together, we can and must retain the considerable resources of the Jail Ministries as well as resolve other concerns that may have arisen in this discussion.