“Rivers plays a big part in the operation of Hertford County and the assistance they give public schools, sheriff’s office, fire departments, EMS. It’s a big plus…. It provides jobs, resources, the ability to work.”
Dexter Hayes, Hertford Countty Sherrif
“So the Rivers Correctional Facility is a vested partner in our community. It has a tremendous impact on our county. It’s one of the top employers in the county. Rivers donates to a number of causes. The local university, the sheriff’s department, the fire department. We have a community advisory board where reach out to the citizens and have them partake or participate in quarterly briefings and updates on what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, so they understand what goes on behind the fences at the facility.”
Brick Tripp, Facility Administrator at The GEO Group
“It’s a laboratory. It’s a profession. It’s employment. It’s internship. It’s many of those things that make a real, real successful relationship, providing opportunities to young people, to our citizenry of this county, many of which would had to have left this community to achieve success in life. These are not just jobs at Rivers. They are professional positions. It’s professional employment.”
John Tayloe, Assistant to the President at Chowan University
Chowan University is a Christian educational institution founded in 1848 by Baptist families and named Chowan – which means “people of the south” – to honor the Native American Algonquin Chowanook tribe. For over 170 years, Chowan has enjoyed a long and distinguished tradition of faith and education in Northeastern NC.
Sheriff Dexter Hayes was appointed as Hertford County Sherriff in 2016. Previously, Hayes was serving as lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Office at the time of his appointment. He was the Chief Detective in the Criminal Investigations Division of the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office.