Alexander Singletary

• Alexander Singletary cleans out his desk after 22 years as patrol deputy, bailiff, detective and captain in charge of the county jail.

By BOB HIGH
Staff Writer

“I may come in Monday (Dec. 31), but right now I don’t know. That’s my last day,” a congenial and smiling Alexander Ray Singletary said last week as he cleaned out his office desk in the old jail.

The 57-year-old from Chadbourn is retiring after 22 years serving five sheriffs in posts ranging from patrol deputy to courtroom bailiff, from detective to being in charge of the county jail – now known as a “detention center” in a politically correct term.

But Singletary isn’t retiring from working to help his fellow humans. That will continue as his daily schedule undergoes a massive change. (See story below)

Alex, as he’s known to most of his friends, was raised on a farm in the Mt. Olive area of northwest Whiteville. “Did you work in tobacco?” Alex was asked.

‘…the usual stuff.’

“Yeah, big time, plus all the other normal crops – potatoes, corn, beans, vegetables, and we had cows, hogs, chickens, goats – and the usual stuff,” he said with a big grin.

Alex is the oldest of nine children raised by Dan and Notre Dame Pridgen Singletary. His father was born and reared in the Bladenboro community. His parents always told their offspring they were going to college – and all of them did.

Alex graduated from the old Mt. Olive High School in 1969 and then studied political science at Southeastern Community College for two years. But more college in 1972 was out of the question for Singletary for a time. He had married Glenin Bellamy of Chadbourn, and needed to find a job.

Singletary’s first away-from-the-farm work was with helping construct mobile homes for Homes of America in Columbus County. But, the plant closed after Alex had been working there less than a year.

Cloth cutter

Whiteville Apparel was Alex’s next stop, and he was a cutter of cloth for 13 years. His work there also ended when the plant closed.

“I was out of work for a week. I needed a job. I knew H.K. George. He was a lieutenant with the Sheriff’s Department. He was the chief bailiff and in charge of the jail.

“He took me to meet Sheriff Bill Rhodes, and I became a jailer. Nine months later I moved to the patrol division as a uniformed deputy,” Singletary recalled.

Three years later, Henry Rowan was named the interim sheriff when Rhodes was forced to resign, and Singletary became a member of the detective unit.

Chief jailer

Harold Rains was sheriff in 1993 when Alex was named to be the chief jailer, now referred to as administrator. This changed in 1994 when Jimmy Ferguson became sheriff. Alex went back to the patrol unit, and stayed there until 1999 when Chief Jailer Larry Baxter retired.

Singletary was moved back to the jail post, and he’s been there for eight years.

Sheriff Chris Batten lauded Alex for his work. “I’ve known Alex for 23 years, and when I was elected I realized his position as captain and jail administrator was the place he needed to stay.

“He has a special way with dealing with the public, inmates and staff which created a balance we had to have to operate the detention facility,” Batten pointed out.

‘Inspiring worth ethic’

The sheriff noted Singletary has an “inspiring work ethic and a genuine desire to help people.”
Batten said he learned about most of Singletary’s traits working cases with him when Batten was a deputy in the 1980s.

“Alex has been, first and foremost, a leader and advisor. He helped guide us through construction of the new detention center. On top of this he’s been a councilor, advisor and a good listener to both the staff and inmates,” the sheriff noted.

“I give Alex nearly all the credit for keeping the peace, particularly with the inmates during our years of severe overcrowding in the old jail. He would spend many hours each day listening to inmate concerns and sorting through the details to solve issues.

“Sometimes, I picked at Alex about siding with inmates and not looking after employees, but we all knew that in his own way he was just trying to keep the peace.

“We wish Alex the best where ever life leads him, because I know he will be making a big difference in somebody’s life,” Batten added.

Making a difference

Singletary usual workday was a challenge. “You never knew what was going to happen. You take all the inmates we get here from all walks of life, all races – politicians to drunks and street dealers – and it’s a gathering of all types of people.

“I always felt I needed to address someone’s immediate problem on arriving at the jail. I’ve listened to stories that were unbelievable, and some were true.

“My job wasn’t to be a judge and jury. My job was to keep them securely in custody until a bondsman, a family member or friend arrived and delivered them from their dilemma,” Alex said with a smile.

Biggest challenge

“Over the years I had good cooperation from magistrates and judges in moving prisoners to other locations for their safekeeping or major medical attention,” he noted.

Singletary’s greatest challenge began in the early 1990s. The jail designed to house 67 inmates was bulging at the seams. Often, the inmate count each night would be in the range of 140. Doubling the number from 67 to 134 wasn’t an unusual event several times a week.

“Harold Rains said we needed a new jail. The state certainly agreed, and when Jimmy Ferguson became sheriff he knew we needed a new facility, and worked continuously to get it done, but he couldn’t do it.”

By the time Chris Batten was elected in 2002, it was routine to send several inmates to neighboring counties for housing. These were defendants who had very high bonds and probably weren’t going to be making bond.

This number continued to rise, and at one time there were 30 inmates being housed in Robeson, Bladen, Brunswick counties, plus a couple in Central Prison’s facility in Raleigh.

Costs kept rising

“Our jail costs kept rising. Other counties weren’t keeping our inmates for free. We had a big problem, and we faced a very major problem.

“If a federal judge had come in here and handled our housing situation, we would have been told we could only house 85 percent of our designated number of inmates (67). That’s only 57 inmates.

“But, we usually had 75 to 80 more than that. Putting that number in other jails would have drained this county dry at the rate of $60 a day per inmate,” Alex explained.

“This county couldn’t have paid the bills. We would have had to release many people that we needed to keep in here for the safety of the public,” he pointed out.

Singletary said the effort to build the new jail – with room for 196 before a hint of overcrowding – moved very slowly. “We knew a judge coming in here was a possibility for 10 years.”

Costly delays

“I have to give credit to Jim Varner. When he became county manager he came out here and knew immediately we had to have a new jail. This county had no choice,” Alex declared.

Singletary noted the long delay in constructing the new facility more than doubled the price. “Steel and concrete went up as soon as the war in Iraq started. I was continuously amazed at the rising costs.”

The jail opened this fall, and it’s a welcome change for inmates and the staff that keeps it running day-to-day. Officers are generally no longer exposed to harm from inmates on a routine basis.

“It’s just so much better, for everyone,” Singletary noted.

Brothers, sisters

Alex will be spending more time now at home, and will probably see more of his eight brothers and sisters, plus his three children and four grandchildren.

His siblings include Reggie, the brother who was a football star at Whiteville High School and N.C. State University before moving to the National Football League. Now living in Burlington and working for General Electric, Reggie was an all-star lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers for several years.

Alex’s sister Barbara Yates is assistant superintendent for the Whiteville City Schools. Cornell Singletary is an assistant principal in St. Pauls, and his twin brother Wendell works in maintenance for a private firm.

Hilda Tigney, another sister, is receptionist at Central Middle School here. Danny, another brother, is working for the Department of Correction’s Tabor City unit, and Rodney works for a private health firm.

Alex’s daughter Temika lives in Albemarle, and his sons Aaron and Alex Jr. are employed here by Georgia Pacific.

“In life you don’t know your role at first. When I became the jail administrator I didn’t know what it meant. Now, I know! The network of friends who I have in the same position in other counties talked back and forth nearly every day.

“I learned from them, and they learned from me. I’m taking this knowledge with me and I’m hoping to put it to work in a private group that will address the needs of young people,” Singletary said.

Youth rehabilitation project
on horizon for Singletary

Alexander Singletary won’t be reporting for duty at the county jail next week, except – maybe – for a short time Monday, Dec. 31, his last day as administrator of the facility.

But, he won’t be far from working with people who will probably find the local jail as a place to call home for a while unless their lives undergo a drastic change.

“One thing that’s very dear to my heart is to get a youth rehabilitation program started in this county. I’m talking about the many, many young people who are using drugs of all types.

“The use of drugs among the young people is more prevalent than the normal person realizes. Too many of us in society look the other way at this problem,” Singletary declared.

‘Not my child!’

“The parent will say, ‘Not my child!’ But, too many times, it’s their child, and by the time the parent realizes what’s going on, it’s too late. The child, and I’m talking girl or boy, is in trouble.

“Children today are surrounded by it. The drug problem crosses all lines to race and class. It’s in every segment of our society.”

Singletary said he hopes to weld a coalition of white, black and Indian churches to address the growing problem.

“All of us must be involved to even scratch the surface,” he pointed out.
“The number of young people we see every day at the jail is appalling. The public wouldn’t believe it. The reason they’re here is almost always leading back to drug use.

Started at age 12

“The kids who’re 16 to 19 we see here usually started at age 12 or even earlier abusing drugs and alcohol. I’m not just talking about marijuana and cocaine or other street drugs, but prescription medication,” Singletary noted.

“Quite a few are already hooked. And, we often hear reports of overdosing among young people.”

Singletary is working with some groups to make his dream a reality, and the sooner the better, he declared.

“Part of the problem is based on economics, then there’s the many, many TV shows they watch where drug and alcohol use is part of the normal action among teens.

“Peer pressure is tough on so many young people. Something’s got to be done to help give them an alternative, and I’m hoping to put together a group to begin to address these problems,” the retiring jailer said with conviction.