Jail scores in top 10% in country

**Wilson Jail Scores in Top 10% in Country**

*By Drew C. Wilson*
dwilson@wilsontimes.com | 252-265-7818

An independent auditor recently gave high marks to the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office for its operation of the Wilson County Detention Center after spending two days at the facility.

Auditor Chad Wicker of the American Correctional Association conducted the audit. With more than 20 years of correctional experience, Wicker visited the jail last week to assess the facility’s compliance with national standards.

“We conducted an on-site audit with the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office in Wilson to see if they were in compliance with the core jail standards manual, which consists of about 148 standards,” Wicker explained. These standards cover basic requirements that small jails must meet to operate efficiently, effectively, safely, and securely.

The audit included a comprehensive tour of the jail, interviews with staff and inmates, and a thorough review of facility operations. Wicker noted that the most time-consuming part of the process was reviewing all the standards alongside proofs provided by the facility to ensure compliance.

“It takes about a day and a half to conduct that,” he said. “At the end of that, we determine if they successfully meet the accreditation standard set by the American Correctional Association.”

Wicker added, “The thing with an audit is you always find things to improve. No jail is stagnant. It either needs to improve or, moving forward, better itself.”

He praised the Wilson County Detention Center, stating, “We found the facility to be very clean. The staff was very engaged with the inmates. The culture was very high — a great environment.”

Though there is always room for improvement, Wicker summarized the overall impression: “I think they have a great facility there.”

Out of more than 3,000 county jails in the country, only about 300 are accredited. “So the facility in the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office is in the top 10% of facilities in the country as far as their detention facility goes, and that is something impressive for the citizens of Wilson County,” Wicker said.

The jail scored 96.6% on the audit. Wicker explained that “there are 47 standards that they must be 100% compliant with, and they were.” Additionally, “there are 104 standards that require at least 90% compliance,” which the detention center also passed comfortably.

“The accreditation process is something many facilities choose not to pursue because they don’t want to put in the extra work to improve,” Wicker noted.

Having visited facilities across the country, Wicker said what impressed him most about Wilson County was “such a great culture. Everybody seems to be pulling the rope in the same direction. You just don’t see that at many places.”

He attributes this strong culture to the leadership, commenting, “I think that is a direct reflection of the sheriff and the leadership at the jail. They really have a great culture there, and everybody seems to be working together to improve the facility and keep the citizens of Wilson County safe.”
https://www.wilsontimes.com/news/jail-scores-in-top-10-in-country-0507180b

The 30k ‘Range Rover dupe’ you can quickly defrost from the comfort of your bed

Hailed the ‘Temu Range Rover’, the Jaecoo 7 has quickly become one of the fastest selling new cars in the UK this year boasting many luxury features There’s a brand new car on the roads which only hit the UK this year but has quickly become a very common sight outside the school gates in 2025 and for good reason. As if school run mornings aren’t hectic enough for many parents, defrosting the car is another added time-consuming task which needs to be done now that winter is officially upon us. However, for those who own a Jaecoo 7 car, it has literally never been easier to get the car ready to go in the winter as the vehicle comes with a mobile app that allows motorists to demist their vehicle without even having to go outside. The app includes a pre-conditioning feature that allows you to remotely activate the defogging and heating functions which starts the car’s car’s climate control and defogging system, warming the car up and clearing the windshield. That is just one luxury feature of the £30, 000 Jaecoo 7 cars, which are a Chinese-made family SUV that only hit the UK earlier this year. The motor may have an unfamiliar foreign badge on it but looks like a swanky and expensive dupe of a Range Rover car for just a fraction of the price. Hailed the ‘Temu Range Rover’, the Jaecoo 7 has become very popular in the UK, particularly among young mothers who want the Range Rover mum look for half the price. The Jaecoo 7 went on sale in the UK in January of this year as the debut model from the sub-brand of China’s largest car exporter, Chery. The name Jaecoo is a mix of the German word ‘jäger’, meaning hunter, and ‘cool’ and it seems they are living up to the latter as they have already been named in a list of the UK’s 10 best-selling new cars in the last three months. By the start of November, the new brand had sold over 20, 000 Jaecoo 7s in Britain, which is more than any other model from a Chinese manufacturer, according to the company. Social media has been rife with positive reviews from customers, mainly female in their late 20s and early 30s, who claim to have ditched their aspirations of a Range Rover and turned to this cheap Chinese newcomer ride instead. And we can completely understand why as the Jaecoo 7 boasts countless luxury features including a large central touchscreen, advanced driver assistance systems, and comfort features like heated and ventilated seats. The Daily Mail and This is Money spoke to a TikTok and Instagram influencer, who goes by the name of Diaries of a Business Mum, about why she made the switch from a Range Rover Sport Autobiography to the Jaecoo 7. After four years of owning a Range Rover, the influencer whose name is Chantel, explained that she and her husband were looking to save some money after having a child and renovating their home. Comparing the two, Chantel says the Jaecoo tech is ‘just as good, if not better’ than the Range Rover, although she admits the British product ‘feels like you’re driving a proper car’ whereas the Jaecoo ‘feels very lightweight’. However, Chantel adds that it’s worth it due to the cheaper petrol bills: “The Jaecoo only costs £60 to fill up and lasts forever, versus about £100 for the Range Rover. She told This is Money: “Once I looked into the features it had and saw one in person, I was sold. I love the look of a Range Rover, but it’s not realistically in my budget, especially with mum life and everything else. With the Jaecoo, I felt like I was getting a premium car for a fraction of the cost.” She added that the plug-in hybrid 7 SHS [Super Hybrid System] is ‘honestly the perfect car’ for mums. I always wanted something cheaper to run but without going fully electric. A plug-in hybrid feels like the perfect middle ground.”.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/motoring/30k-range-rover-dupe-you-36293021

EA Jumps Headfirst Into AI Hype Train Immediately After Acquisition

EA was only recently acquired by private investment firms, and the company is already positioning itself to go all-in on using generative AI as part of its development process. The publisher just announced a “strategic partnership” with Stability AI, one of the largest players in the generative AI space, to integrate their technology into EA’s development pipeline. This move was always part of the plan following the acquisition.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson made the company’s commitment to generative AI crystal clear last year, signaling that this technology will be key in cutting costs and recouping some of the $55 billion spent on the acquisition by private investors, including Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

### EA Is Trying Generative AI Again

This isn’t the first time EA has attempted to integrate generative AI into its development processes. Their existing chatbot model, ReefGPT, has reportedly had issues with hallucinations—generating erroneous outputs that can lead to costly and time-consuming errors in code.

Despite these setbacks, Stability AI and EA are making ambitious claims about how generative AI can improve creative workflows. They are deliberately emphasizing the importance of creativity in game development, seemingly ignoring the broader concerns about generative AI’s impact on artists and creatives across industries.

In their announcement, EA compares generative AI to traditional procedural automation found in games, such as real-time physics simulation and automatic pathfinding. However, this analogy misses the core issues many people have with generative AI technology.

Even previous attempts to integrate AI into EA’s games have met with limited success, to put it mildly.

### Industry-Wide AI Adoption

EA is not alone in its dedication to generative AI. The technology has become relatively common in the Japanese gaming industry. Blizzard has echoed EA’s optimistic rhetoric, stating generative AI can “free up more time for people to be creative.” Similarly, just recently, Krafton announced plans for a “complete reorganization” to become more fully reliant on AI.

Over the last year, there have been less obvious but widespread signs of generative AI’s influence across the games industry, indicating a broader shift toward this technology despite ongoing challenges and controversies.
https://www.dualshockers.com/ea-jumps-headfirst-into-ai-hype-train-immediately-after-acquisition/