By Matthew Estes, Communications Director
Centreville, Ala. – It’s a fresh start of the Centreville Field Office in Bibb County, which recently moved from Market Street to 1055 Birmingham Road right off U.S. Highway 82, the main bypass through the town and neighboring Brent. With the move, the newer, more functional building was better able to match pace with an already talented staff. “This is a great upgrade for them,” said District 3A Manager Lamanda Thomas, praising the office camaraderie, organizational skills, and team atmosphere.
Indeed, the Centreville staff is surprisingly productive and organized, with a staff of only four: Officer-in-Charge Stewart Dellinger, Officer Eli Smith, Specialist Senior Katlin King, and Administrative Support Assistant III Kim Ray. While most field offices serve only their own home county, Centreville is in the unique position of serving three: Bibb, Hale, and Perry. While the combined population isn’t much different than a mid-sized Alabama County, it takes a lot of planning for a small staff to cover one of the largest geographic areas of any field office.
To mitigate challenges for probationers and parolees, the office conducts monthly off-site reporting in Greensboro, 40 miles away in Hale County. Fortunately, the office can rely on more than 40 years of combined experience to keep things moving and get the job done. “Scheduling is what keeps us going. Generally, we look a month ahead,” said OIC Dellinger, with more than 20 years of experience in the field of probation.
Dellinger shouted out the organizational skills of his staff, particularly Kim Ray who also has more than 20 years in her role: “I don’t know what I’d do without her.” They’ve been working together in Centreville since 2011, and Ray has the know-how to keep everyone on track with their busy schedules. A unique feature in Ray’s reception area is a typewriter – something not found in most modern offices. Ray has excellent computer skills because of her duties, but if she needs to do something quickly like address an envelope or add text to a document, she will slide over to the typewriter to avoid dealing with the fuss of a word processer.
Officer Eli Smith loves “being able to help in [clients’] rehabilitation process.” He uses his background as a pastor to guide and edify, talking to people with empathy while still being highly effective at his job. Senior Specialist Katlin King is a logistical expert and calming presence, able to develop a one-on-one rapport with probationers and parolees and get them much-needed help and resources. These four talented employees are right in the middle of things, serving the surrounding communities with distinction and using their combined strengths to become more than the sum of their parts.
The Bureau has 62 field offices, serving all Alabama counties. Field offices function as a local base of operations for Probation and Parole Officers, specialists and other support staff. Officers are required to make various contacts with probationers and parolees based on their risk level. These contacts range from a monthly office visit for lower risk individuals to weekly office, home, employment and curfew checks for higher risk individuals. In addition, officers are tasked with various types of investigations requested by the Bureau or courts, as well as assisting other law enforcement agencies when needed.
[From left] District 3A Manager Lamanda Thomas, Specialist Senior Katlin King, Officer-in-Charge Stewart Dellinger, Administrative Support Assistant III Kim Ray, Officer Eli Smith.
New Centreville Field Office
Old Centreville Field Office
Administrative Support Assistant III Kim Ray
Officer-in-Charge Stewart Dellinger
Specialist Senior Katlin King