A view from “inside” the prison – Sergeant Trent Weldon on Jessop’s Journal - ABC 4

A view from “inside” the prison – Sergeant Trent Weldon on Jessop’s Journal - ABC 4

A view from “inside” the prison – Sergeant Trent Weldon on Jessop’s Journal - ABC 4

Posted: 09 Oct 2020 02:53 PM PDT

(ABC4 NEWS – SALT LAKE CITY, UT) How stressful is your job? Think of the person, place or thing that helps you "shake it off" and rid your self of stress.

I met Trent Weldon at a local pet shop called The Waterfront. We both talked about aquariums as our "happy place."

Admittedly, allergy season is not a fun time for me.  Trent had some serious sniffles (is that a real word?) and I suggested using a product I had recently did a news story on. Come to find out that Trent deals with a neurological disorder, called Tourette's that creates some verbal tics. I apologized and thanked him for the details. My thoughts went to wondering if other people that watch my interviews might want more information.

As an inquisitive guy that asks questions for a living, I asked him what he did for a living and was surprised to hear that he was a Sergeant with the Utah Department of Corrections.

Translation, Trent is a prison guard. What questions would you want to ask someone that works inside the prison system?

Full disclosure, I believe that I am one of the very few reporters that has been allowed to do an interview inside the prison with inmates. You can click here to see the story. I was told that the major question I was NOT allowed to ask is "why are you here?"  

There are certain "details" that Sargent Weldon was not able to talk about, but it is pretty amazing to hear some things you may not know about working inside a prison.

"Have you ever feared for your life?" I was amazed at how fast and deliberate he answered the question and gave me background.

I'm not going to give away everything we talked about, but here are some Internet Treasure Hunt questions to look for…

"What is the inmate to guard ratio?"

"What is the difference working as a guard for women vs. men inmates?"

"How much do you know about why an inmate is there?"

"Tell me about maximum security."

"What is a typical day like?'

"Big topic —- let's talk about incidents?"

Everyone has a Story. Stories have Power. They help us Understand each other. With another entry into Jessop's Journal, I'm Doug Jessop, ABC4 News.

"Jessop's Journal" features in-depth, on-demand interviews not normally available in the news. A new segment is published every week at www.abc4.com/journal .

A big shout out goes to my collaborator, Ed Wilets, who does a great job as my videographer/editor for all my stories. I invite you to watch each episode of Jessop's Journal at www.ABC4.com/Journal and share these stories with your friends and neighbors.  Your feedback is always welcome at DJessop@abc4.com

I'm blessed to do a number of news story series that air on ABC4 News. www.ABC4.com It is also my pleasure to have a number of my stories appear on various Nexstar Media Group TV station websites.

For a sneak peek at stories I'm working on and to see archives of previous stories, please consider following me at www.DougJessop.com, www.YouTube.com/dougjessop , www.Facebook.com/dougjessopnews, www.Instagram.com/dougjessopnews and www.Twitter.com/dougjessopnews

I strongly feel that "stories have power". Chances are that if you are going through something, that someone else probably has as well. The shared experiences we humans have can help each other. That my friend makes the point that stories "help us understand each other."

You don't have to agree with everyone, but in my opinion, if people would take more time getting to knowing more about others and where they are coming from, we just might find out that we have more similarities than differences.

Thanks and shoutout for the generous underwriting support of Rustico, Tailor Cooperative, JW Custom Hats and Ogden's Own Distillery.

Thank you for watching, reading, liking, subscribing and all that other fun stuff. I'm Doug Jessop,   ABC4 News.

Doug Jessop
For Doug Jessop, it all started with a cassette recorder he got for Christmas when he was 12 years old growing up in Southern California. Doug interviewed relatives, friends and anyone else that might have a good story. You can follow Doug at www.DougJessop.com, on YouTube.com/DougJessop, and @DougJessopNews on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post Posted: 05 Jun 2016 12:00 AM PDT With exacting precision, the surgeon inserted the scalpel above the eyeball and cut out a snotty deposit of fatty tissue. The routine eye-lift was nearly complete when suddenly the patient awoke, suffocating, and began to flop about on the table. The audience gasped. Knowing time was of the essence, the surgeon scooped up the patient in his arms, raced across the stage, and dropped her into a tank of water. She revived. Because she was a fish. Yes, fish eye-lifts exist. As do fin jobs and tail tucks. The operating theater was a mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, where a pet expo was under way. As for the patient, she survived, her formerly droopy eyes now bright and perky. A good thing, too, as this was no ordinary goldfish but rather an Asian arowana, the world's most expensive aquarium denizen, rumored to sell for as mu
Read more

Reviews: Horrified SeaQuest Aquarium Visitors Tell All | PETA - PETA

Image
Reviews: Horrified SeaQuest Aquarium Visitors Tell All | PETA - PETA Reviews: Horrified SeaQuest Aquarium Visitors Tell All | PETA - PETA Posted: 21 Sep 2020 12:00 AM PDT SeaQuest aquariums—which are owned by Vince Covino—are plagued by issues: animal deaths, legal violations, injuries to employees and members of the public from direct contact with animals, and customer reviews that'll make your jaw drop (and not in a good way). So if you've ever considered visiting a SeaQuest location or any other Covino-operated aquarium, do yourself and animals a favor: Learn from these TripAdvisor and Yelp reviewers. At SeaQuest Folsom in California, an otter was apparently whacked with a broom. "This place smells the animals look tortured and starved. I'm not a fan of this place. Took my family and we ran out of there. … We will never go back. Also we saw an employee wack an otter with a broom. … If you love animals you will hate t
Read more

Eight different exotic fish species recorded in Ganga river: Kataria - Outlook India

Image
Eight different exotic fish species recorded in Ganga river: Kataria - Outlook India Eight different exotic fish species recorded in Ganga river: Kataria - Outlook India Posted: 17 Sep 2020 12:00 AM PDT New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) Eight different exotic fish species were recorded in a study on fishes in Ganga river, Rattan Lal Kataria, Minister of State in the Jal Shakti Ministry, said on Thursday.             Many ecological parameters like dissolved oxygen conductivity indicated that the river health is improving, Kataria said.             In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, Kataria said under the Namami Gange Programme, a project of ''Assessment of fish and fisheries of the Ganga River System for developing suitable conservation and restoration plan'' was sanctioned to Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) for Rs 7.067 crore. The purpose of the exercise was to study fish and fisheries of river
Read more