ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 26, 1996 TAG: 9603260082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BEDFORD
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on March 27, 1996.
A story Tuesday incorrectly reported the outcome of a vote by rhe
Bedford County Board of Supervisors on a resolution to sell $6 million
in Virginia Public School Authority bonds. The board voted 5-2 to
apporve the sale. Supervisors Bob Crouch and Dale Wheeler voted against
the resolution.
After almost a year of indecision, the Bedford County Board of Supervisors reluctantly voted Monday to rejoin the Blue Ridge Regional Jail.
"I don't feel a bit better about the regional jail, but I don't see where we have a choice," Supervisor Dale Wheeler said before the board's 4-3 vote. Wheeler, Chairman Tony Ware, Vice Chairwoman Lucille Boggess and Supervisor Wayne Newcomb voted to rejoin the jail with Halifax and Campbell counties and the cities of Lynchburg and Bedford.
If the regional jail's board votes to readmit Bedford County, Bedford would pay $367,000 a year for 69 beds in the regional jail system, which includes space at a new regional jail complex to be built in Lynchburg. Prisoners awaiting trial locally would still be held in the existing Bedford County Jail.
Bedford County voted in November 1994 to join Lynchburg and other localities in building a regional jail system that is to be partially funded by the state. However, in June 1994, the Bedford County Board of Supervisors voted to quit the jail, expressing skepticism over whether state money would be there as promised.
Unfortunately for Bedford County, it had promised use of its state-leased Camp 24 jail annex to the regional jail. After Bedford County pulled out, the state Department of Corrections announced it would pull the county's lease on the jail annex and give the annex to the Blue Ridge Regional Jail.
That left Bedford scrambling for jail space. In recent months, the supervisors discussed building an addition onto the county jail, even though that option would be more expensive than joining the regional jail. But that idea seemed even less plausible after the General Assembly passed legislation this year that would deny state funding for construction costs and correctional employees for localities that build new jail space.
About 50 of the Bedford County Sheriff's Office's 86 employees are state-funded correctional employees and their job funding could have been affected.
"Something had to be done. I think it's the best decision for the county and the taxpayers. The operational costs would have killed us," Sheriff Mike Brown said.
Supervisors Roger Cheek, Bob Crouch and Calvin Updike voted against rejoining, however. Crouch said he thought not enough answers were being given about long-term costs in the regional jail. "I don't know what the bottom-line cost is, because I keep hearing unknowns - and I don't like unknowns," he said.
In other action, the board voted 4-2 to approve the sale of $6 million in Virginia Public School Authority bonds for construction and renovation of county schools. Crouch abstained from voting.
Bill Hoy of Landmark News Service contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 linesby CNB