COLUMBIA STEAKHOUSE in Lexington was the dinner menu for the Galentine’s Celebration at the Woodford County Detention Center. The dinner was donated by Rector Hayden Realtor Cindy Shryock. The women are dressed in their new pajamas while enjoying their food. After dinner, they had popcorn, soft drinks and a movie in their pod. (Photo by Scott White)

MENA ROSE, right with brush, who is part of the Woodford County Detention Center’s kitchen staff, volunteered her time to give facial makeovers at the detention center’s Galentine’s Celebration and said, “I’m having the time of my life.” (Photo by Scott White)

“A Galentine’s Celebration” at the Woodford County Detention Center? Really?

Well, it did happen last Saturday, Feb. 14, when Woodford County Jailer Michele Shryock Rankin showed again that not only does she run a top-flight jail with a sparkling safety record while saving Woodford County taxpayers money, she has a heart for her work and the people she is responsible for caring for while in her custody.

“We’ve done several father-daughter dances over the years,” Rankin said. “But I really thought it was time we did something for the women prisoners too . . . to remind them they are a person of worth.”

Rankin worked with her staff to transform a small recreation area into a pink-festooned room where the ladies could enjoy some pampering. Major Charlina Foster and Visitation Clerk Robyn Giles oversaw the decorations, Kitchen Manager KeeKee Clark prepared a charcuterie board, community volunteer Shelley Bryant, kitchen staff member Mena Rose, finance officer Tammy Hartley and Lt. Cheyenne LeMay handled facial makeovers, and Revive Hair stylist Emily Patton-Hunter did haircuts and styles. There was even a portable massage chair that the women could relax on to make it a true “spa day” experience.

When the women were taken from their pods into the transformed recreation room, “The ladies lit up like it was Christmas . . . it was really special,” said Foster. Each was given a “goodie bag” with skin and hair products, a brush, a headband, a cushy blanket and other items.

After the makeover, the women went back into their pod to change into brand-new soft pajamas and then returned for a Columbia Steakhouse steak dinner provided by longtime Rector Hayden Realtor Cindy Shryock, Rankin’s mother.

In fact, everything from the cosmetics, to the time spent, to the food were donated . . . no jail funds were used.

“At the Woodford County Detention Center, we treat our prisoners and inmates like real people, because they are real people,” said Rankin. “In some ways, it helps us who work here as much as them.”

Here are some of the comments from the women: “I feel like a woman again,” “I feel like a real person, I really appreciate this,” “This is my first, and I hope only, time in jail and it just makes me feel like I have worth,” and “I don’t feel like I’m in jail today, it’s a miracle.”