News : Sheriff gives supervisors update on new LEC, jail

Nineteen prisoners are serving sentences this week in the jail area of the new Benton County Law Enforcement center; Sheriff Randy Forsyth gave the county supervisors an update on the new facility during their meeting on Tuesday.

Forsyth said the new building is working very well, with the exception of a few very minor problems. There have been some issues with the electronics, particularly the fire alarm system. Forsyth and his staff have been working with the providers on resolving those problems.

The new challenge for the sheriff is staffing the new facility, which requires two jailers to be on duty. In the old jail, one was often enough. The additional man-hours needed to staff the jail, along with the resignations of two jail staff members, have added some scheduling challenges. The supervisors approved one new jail staff hire on Tuesday.

Forsyth said the new building does not seem to have any damage from the July 11 storm that affected dozens of buildings in Vinton.

"We found one piece of tin, but we don't know if it's from our building or somebody else's said the sheriff.

However, other storm-related damages have also occupied the sheriff and his staff. The pick-up truck used by detective Mark Phippen was totaled by two falling trees during the storm. The sheriff and supervisors have been discussing whether to lease another vehicle, or to buy one.

The supervisors rejected a request from Kleiman Construction for a release of reserved funds, because the contractor has not yet submitted claim waivers from the subcontractors. Also, installation of exterior window shades remains unfinished

Work on the parking lot on the east side of Second Avenue, and its lighting also continues.