THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 2, 1996 TAG: 9601310117
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
The city's new jail, under construction at the municipal center off Cedar Road, will open later than expected this year.
Sheriff John R. Newhart said he had hoped to get into the facility by the spring. But bad weather and supply problems will delay the building's completion until August, said Maj. David C. Newby, Newhart's administrative assistant.
``Most construction gets delayed some way or another, so that's not unusual,'' Newby said.
The new building will be a welcome relief for Newhart and his staff.
The old jail is severely crowded, housing as many as 500 inmates in space meant for 213.
The $25 million jail will have 320 beds, Newby said. Its design will be unique in Hampton Roads and the state, Newhart said.
Deputies, because of the design of the cell blocks, will be able to supervise all inmates at once. Now deputies must patrol long hallways to get a view into each cell, a process that doesn't allow them to see everything that's going on.
Newby said 92 extra deputies will be hired to staff the new jail.
A new ``work annex,'' a $1.6 million facility for inmates who are allowed to leave the compound for work or community service projects, is scheduled to be completed by April 1997. The annex will hold an additional 72 prisoners.
The old jail will get $900,000 in renovations.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE JAIL by CNB