Sheriff Joe Arpaio institutes cost-saving, vegetarian meals for inmates

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio dons a chef's uniform to promote a vegetarian diet for inmates. (Fox10)Get sent to jail in Arizona’s Maricopa County and you’ll be experiencing some serious life changes. And for those who eat meat, that includes going vegetarian.

County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is no stranger to controversy. Over the years, he has made seemingly countless numbers of national headlines. As recently as August, the five-time elected sheriff was in the news after announcing that his deputies would be required to carry firearms at all times, even while off duty.

Arpaio’s latest move is a plan to transition all of his inmates in the county’s eight jails to a vegetarian diet. On the surface, it might sound like a health-conscious move from the 81-year-old lawman. But Arpaio said the change is all about saving the county money.

As part of an effort to publicize the move, Arpaio donned a chef's uniform during a local TV appearance.

“Little by little, this is the first step to go vegetarian,” he told Phoenix affiliate Fox 10. “There will be no more meat on the menu, we’ll save $100,000.”

Instead, the jails will serve soy. In the interview with Fox, Arpaio showed how one stew-like dish will be prepared using the soy along with a combination of carrots, peas and other vegetables.

“It looks great. It looks like stew,” Arpaio said while laughing. “I’m getting hungry.”

Of course, reporter Troy Hayden was less convinced, telling Arpaio that the soy looked like "wood chips" and pointing out that some of the carrots used were brown.

"Oh, that's probably just dirt, don't worry about that," Arpaio responded.

And even though meat is being taken off the menu, Arpaio says one Maricopa County policy he famously instituted will remain constant: The inmates will still be charged for their meals.

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Deputy Sheriff fights alligator from middle school

Jessica McGregor and the alligator has caught (Sheriff's Office Lake County)

Florida Sheriff's Deputy took matters into their own hands last week when was spotted a seven-foot alligator trying to break through the fence of a local middle school.

Jessica McGregor, Deputy Sheriff of Lake County, a 29-year-old mother of two, has answered the call, fashioned a noose from a 30 foot rope and "saw the would-be attacker," the Orlando Sentinel reports.

"I got it turned around, and began to spin and jump and flop," McGregor told the newspaper. "Once he got tired, he just laid there and wiggled his tail. I threw the rope above him and fall down with your knees behind the front legs. He jerked around a bit and just gave up.

The Congressman, who said she and her brother used to catch alligators for fun, explained that she didn't want to wait the two hours estimated for the professional trapper arrive.

"I lived in Lake County my entire life," McGregor told the newspaper. "Back in the day, you've got these things come on your land, and just took 'em and 'em threw back into the nearest drinker."

Not a big deal.

While alligator encounters are common in the State, attacks are less and even then are rarely fatal. Still, it can be frightening. Last summer, two teenagers in Florida were attacked by alligators in a span of five days. One of them lost the bottom half of his right arm in the near-fatal encounter.

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