From left, Lincoln and Sagadahoc Multicounty Jail Authority Chair Mary Trescot and Two Bridges Regional Jail Capt. James Bailey speak about the jail authority’s decision to place jail Administrator Mark Westrum on paid administrative leave Wednesday, Oct. 12. (Abigail Adams photo)
The Lincoln and Sagadahoc Multicounty Jail Authority voted unanimously to place Two Bridges Regional Jail Administrator Col. Mark Westrum on paid administrative leave following an executive session at a special meeting of the board on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
The decision comes days after Westrum was arrested in Bath and charged with operating under the influence.
Westrum will remain on paid administrative leave until the jail authority reconvenes for its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 9, jail authority Chair Mary Trescot said. Capt. James Bailey will assume the responsibilities of jail administrator pending future action of the authority, Trescot said.
The action, “ensures that daily operations continue uninterrupted,” Trescot said. Bailey has worked at Two Bridges Regional Jail since before the jail was built, he said. He was among the first staff hired for the facility as it was in the construction process in 2006.
Mark Westrum
Westrum was stopped by a Bath police officer for driving without lights on Front Street in Bath at about 9:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, the Bangor Daily News reported.
After a sobriety test, Westrum was arrested for operating under the influence. He was released from the Bath Police Department on personal-recognizance bail, the Bangor Daily News reported. Westrum is scheduled to appear in West Bath District Court on Nov. 22, according to the Bangor Daily News.
Westrum has not returned to work at Two Bridges since his arrest. He was out on earned time prior to the jail authority’s Wednesday decision, Bailey said.
Westrum, a former four-term sheriff of Sagadahoc County, has served as administrator of Two Bridges Regional Jail since 2008. Westrum was previously chair of the jail authority.
He also previously held the positions of chair of the now defunct Board of Corrections, president of the Maine Sheriffs Association, and president of the Maine Jail Administrators Association.
