Jail administrator announces retirement

After a 27-year career Hot Springs County Jail Administrator Beth Price will bid farewell, with her official last day on Nov. 6.

Price moved to Thermopolis from Grand Junction, Colorado in 1975. "People around here have been nice enough to stay," she said with a smile. While in Colorado, she was a hairdresser, a profession she continued after the move.

She went back to school, attending Central Wyoming College, earning a Computer Science degree. However, her career path took her to work at Hot Springs County Counseling Services - now WellSprings Counseling Service. During this position, she got involved in law enforcement.

"I worked for the psychologist that was working on the [James] Wiley trial. That's when I was offered a job from John Lumley, to maybe help with security during that trial, and the next thing I know I'm applying for work at the sheriff's office." She noted that Lumley was on the board of directors for the counseling center, which is how she first met him.

In January of 1993 Price started as a detention deputy, and became the jail administrator in 1998 under Lumley. When Lumley became a commissioner, she returned to being a deputy and Dan Pebbles became the administrator. When Lou Falgoust became sheriff, Pebbles moved to become a lieutenant and Price again became the administrator in 2010.

"I've been administrator here for about 15 of the 27 year I've been here." She really has enjoyed the work and found out she was really good at it, though it hasn't been without its challenges.

"Early on, there was kind of an issue with being a female cop. I was a little hard to fit in sometimes. I actually had some law enforcement officers - I'm not going to say deputies or officers - that expressed to me they thought I was in the wrong profession and women shouldn't be here. That's changed drastically. Now we actively look for women because they really do have a place in this career field."

Another challenge comes from working the jail alone. "A lot of the time you're here alone and you might have 25 inmates here," Price said, "the vast majority of them being men that are bigger, stronger and meaner than you are. You learn how to talk to them and de-escalate a situation. There's a lot of things to learn, but I feel like I was picking it up and getting pretty good at it."

Though her last working day is Nov. 6, Price is using her vacation and will remain on as a county employee until Dec. 20. "I got a lot of plans, but I'm just so old I can't remember any of them," she said, laughing. "You know, seven-day weekends, who can complain about that?" She's got children and grandkids she's looking to spending more time with, and plans to visit her brother in Puerto Vallarta.

"They say life begins at 40. I think life begins at retirement. I'm going to prove that to be true."

Price didn't know if an official decision has been made for a new administrator, but she advises whoever it is "this is a very stressful job. I think whoever takes this position needs to make sure they keep an even keel between their job and their home life. That's real important. It's easy for this to consume you. But, it's been very enjoyable. I've made a lot of good friends over the years."