Overdoses a continuous problem

The Lawrence County Jail discussion continued at the county commission meeting Tuesday evening, which took place at Coal Grove Village Hall.

The door to move to the ORV facility in Franklin Furnace is just about closed with the commissioners not voting to approve payment of the utility bill at the facility.

J.T. Holt, a resident of the county, questioned the commissioners as to why the move ultimately will not be made, and said the facility will now become a regional jail, owned by the state Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.

“The state budget passed and Lawrence County will lose that property,” Holt said. “Any jobs or anything that will be created there, Lawrence County will not collect any tax dollars and it will all go back to Scioto County.”

Commissioner DeAnna Holliday, a longtime proponent of the jail move, said she agreed, and was disappointed that the county lost this opportunity.

“I feel like this is a terrible development for Lawrence County. The jail population will most likely be lowered by the state, and our transportation costs to send prisoners out of county will double,” Holt said. “We could have made the move and created jobs instead of sending money out of the county.”

Currently, the Lawrence County Jail houses 52 inmates, but Commissioners Holliday and Freddie Hayes Jr. said all indications they have received were that the state would cut that number to 27.

Holt also brought up the $69,000 utility bill commission will not pay to the state Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, and said it’s not going to look good for the county that the entity the county owes the bill to is the same one that decides the maximum jail population as well as how many beds Lawrence County may have at the regional jail.

In addition, Holt pointed out that in the county’s lease of the facility, it states that the state would pay for the exterior fence around the facility to separate it from STAR, cutting the existing fence to make a sally port and making the parking lot and access road for the facility.

“These are all things that were quoted in a final cost for the project that the county would not have had to do,” Holt said. “These things made the county’s final cost inflate substantially.”

Holliday said she agreed, and was disappointed for not paying the utility bill, which she called an obligation to the county.

Commission President Bill Pratt, who is against the move, said he didn’t look at it as an obligation, but more as a means to terminate the lease, which will officially expire May 8. He added that in making his decisions, he had county services such as EMS and the juvenile center in mind, stating that those were things that potentially could have been cut with a jail move.

The county will now try to obtain as many beds as it can at the regional jail, while continuing to send prisoners out of county until a further plan for a new jail is determined.

Holliday said she would like to see some kind of committee formed for a plan for the new jail in the future.

Lawrence County EMS Director Buddy Fry also informed the commissioners of the increased runs EMS has made in April of this year compared to last year.

He said that in April 2016, county EMS made 916 runs compared to 999 in April this year. Of those 999, 39 were responses to overdoses, including two deaths.

Also at commission, the commissioners:

• Approved and signed the weekly invoices and certificates as presented by the Auditor’s office.

• Received and filed the Dog Warden Report dated April 22, 2017.

• Approved seven floodplain permits.

• Approved 26 transfer funds.

• Approved one appropriation.

• Approved the appointments of Malea Wilson, who is replacing Krista Blankenship, and Mark Gleichauf, who is replacing Harry Fry, to the LEPC as requested by Jane Griffith, LEPC secretary.

• Approved a resolution to submit a 2018 fiscal year grant application to the Ohio Department of Transportation Office of Aviation for removal of trees on property owned by Gary Morrison and removal or topping of trees located on Shari Thacker’s property.

• Met in executive session with Chief Deputy Auditor Chris Kline, Jeff Smith and Roger Holsten regarding personnel hire, fire, reprimand. No action was taken.