PORT HADLOCK — An anonymous donor is offering $1,000 to be split among employees of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
All they have to do is quit using tobacco — and prove it with a lie detector test.
A cash prize is being offered to department employees who quit smoking or chewing tobacco for a period of 270 days, beginning Monday and ending by next year’s annual department banquet, said Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Brasfield.
“We have two folks who have signed up and made the pledge so far,” he said.
“We hope more will make the pledge” before the start date.
If more than one participant succeeds in the challenge, the $1,000 prize will be split among all.
To be eligible, participants must work at least 30 hours a week in the jail or patrol, detective, civil or animal control divisions, and must have been regular users of tobacco for at least a year.
To ensure that participants have actually kicked the habit for the entire 270 day period, polygraph examinations will be administered to those who say they have completed the program.
“We are very fortunate for this donation,” Brasfield said.
“This is not only a good thing for our department as a whole, but for the health of our employees as well.”
The Sheriff’s Office has 47 full-time positions.
