Michigan program trains prisoners to trim around power lines
When Scott Steffes leaves Michigan’s Parnall Correctional Facility this month he expects to walk into a new life with a new career that will take him upward of 25 feet above ground JACKSON, Mich. -- When Scott Steffes leaves Michigan's Parnall Correctional Facility this month he anticipates entering a new career that will take him upward of 25 feet (7.6 meters) above ground. Steffes, 37, is one of more than a dozen prisoners learning how to climb trees and trim branches around power lines as part of DTE Energy's $70 million plan to improve the utility's electric infrastructure. “This has helped my situation in getting prepared for the outside world,” Steffes said, minutes after lowering himself by rope from wooden posts in one of the yards outside Parnall’s Vocational Village, 78 miles (125 kilometers) west of Detroit. Prisoners who participate in the tree-trimming program at Vocational Village receive a daily stipend of between 94 cents and $1.31. Steffes has served four...