Eyes are on new jail land and facilities for Cass County

By Marlene J. Bohr
mbohr@steelcountrybee.com

Overcrowding and the expense of shipping prisoners off to be housed in another county has caused Cass County officials to begin action on obtaining new jail facilities, according to Cass County Sheriff Larry Rowe.
Sheriff Rowe presented information to the Cass County Commissioners Court last week of a 10-acre tract near the current jail that could be purchased as a site for new facilities.
“I gave this proposal to the commissioners and they voted unanimously to get the land,” Sheriff Rowe said. “This is a fair market value, and it is within the city limits and has water and sewer. We have no idea what a new jail will cost. We need to take step two to get someone to draw up plans. These plans have to be approved by the State Jail Commission.”
In spite of a jail that is over 20 years old, Sheriff Rowe said the jail does pass state inspections.
“However, we are operating on minimum jail standards,” he said. “We are not understaffed, but we are at the minimum. The jail is a little over 20 years old and the building has a lot of problems. With age that will happen no matter what you have. The main problem is that we cannot house female offenders at all, and we are overcrowded with males.”
 

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