News : Jail open house to include ribbon cutting, K-9 demo Saturday

Sheriff's Office personnel have begun moving into the new LEC.

A pay phone has been installed in the LEC lobby; the building interferes with cell phone signals.

The U.S. flag was raised over the new LEC for the first time Wednesday afternoon.

Benton County maintenance workers attached the flag to the pole for the first time at the LEC.

The 4 by 6-foot flag will fly over the new LEC.

There are two meanings to the following statement: There are no bars in the new Benton County Jail.

There are no bars in the prison. The inmates are confined with reinforced steel doors.

And there are no bars on the cell phones of people inside the building.

Some visitors to the new Benton County Law Enforcement Center are surprised to see in the main lobby a device that is quickly vanishing from just about everywhere else in society: A pay phone.

But there's a reason providing a phone for the public to use there: The structure of the building interferes with most cell phone signals.

The celebration of the opening of the new Benton County Law Enforcement Center will feature mostly local leaders, although organizers are still waiting for a response from Sen. Charles Grassley.

The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. this Saturday, June 11. Speakers will include Benton County Supervisor Ron Buch, Vinton Mayor John Watson, Sheriff Randy Forsyth and EMA Board Member Steve Meyer.

The ribbon cutting will take place at 10:30, with the tour to follow. A demonstration of the county's K-9 units will take place at 1:30 p.m. The public is invited.