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The Pulaski County Fiscal Court recognized Jimmy Wilson on Tuesday during the court meeting for his service. Wilson retired from the county after 26 1/2 years, working - last at the Detention Center. Pictured in front, Jimmy Wilson and Jailer Mike Harris; back row, Mike Strunk, 5th district magistrate; Glenn Maxey, 4th district magistrate; Dan Thompson, assistant county attorney; Barty Bullock, Pulaski County Judge-executive; Kenny Isaacs, 1st district magistrate; Mike Wilson, 2nd district magistrate; and Tommy Barnett, 3rd district magistrate. Susan Wheeldon Photo
New booking software at PCDC a plus
Local News
Pulaski County Detention Center employees will have some of their time freed up for other duties after new booking software is put to use.
The Pulaski County Fiscal Court approved the purchase after Jailer Mike Harris explained that the new software would help free employees up for other duties and ultimately it would be a cheaper option.
Harris said the new system will allow people to view current detainees at the detention center on a Web site, along with their charges and their bonds. Many phone calls made to the jail involve just those questions.
“Right now the phones ring like crazy,” said Harris.
Harris also said local police departments, members of the court system and the media will be able to access items they may need through the site.
Because the new system should cut down on the number of phone calls the jail has to deal with, Harris said he believes jail employees can start taking more time to do searches of people when they enter the jail, as well as cell searches.
“I believe the best thing will be the Web site, as it will slow the calls,” said Harris.
The new booking system will also help prevent the time-consuming system errors that accompanied the old system. When the old system went down, all detainees had to be booked by hand.
The detention center’s current system is online in Houston, Texas, and every time the Internet is out of commission the system at the detention center is “dead in the water.”
The jailer noted the system went down on New Year’s Night and 38 people had to be booked by hand.
The new Jail Tracker software will be located on an in-house server and hooked up to a generator, which will allow it to continue operating should the jail experience a power outage, Harris said.
The cost of Jail Tracker is around $25,000 and Harris said the detention center will pay $13,180 out of the commissary and then pay $351.91 for 48 months to complete the payoff. Harris noted that money can come from the commissary, because it will keep track of payments inmates make for items while in the detention center.
Harris said the company the jail has the current software from charges the jail $600 a month currently and they make payments of $351.91 a month.
“So we’re saving $600 a month and paying $350 a month,” magistrate Glenn Maxey wanted to clarify during the meeting.
Treasurer Arlene Young and Harris confirmed that.
After four years, the detention center will own the new system, however, maintenance work will still be done by the Glasgow company.
Last year the Pulaski County Detention Center booked 4,864 people in the jail.
In other business:
• The court approved waiving the insurance premium tax for the new judicial center. Assistant County Attorney Dan Thompson explained that if the county did not waive the tax since the county owns the building they would pay the tax out of the general fund and then it would go right back into the general fund.
• County Clerk Ralph Troxtell asked the court to accept the 2008 budget and excess fees of $580,789.12, with the exception that it still has to be audited.
The court accepted the budget and excess fees.
• The court approved Nancy Fire Department getting a $10,000 no interest loan for some items they needed. The department will pay $500 a quarter to pay for the loan.
• Upon a recommendation by Pulaski County Judge-executive Barty Bullock the court approved H.E. Corder and John Perkins for the ethics board and the reappointment of April Wilson to the board.
• Bullock announced that there would be a groundbreaking ceremony for the Pulaski County Judicial Center at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 2.
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LCADTF could lose big bucks
Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force officials estimate that the City of Somerset’s lack of involvement in the task force could lead to a loss of some $250,000 in federal funding per year — a chunk which could easily force the task force to close its doors.
David Keller, deputy director of Appalachia HIDTA, a major funding source for the local drug task force and the reason why federal and state law enforcement officers are able to be a part of the agency, says the agency’s current situation is more serious than many people realize.
Keller says HIDTA has made a “huge investment” in the LCADTF, but that folks shouldn’t get too comfortable with the agency’s ability to obtain grant money at the federal or state level.
“This is not entitlement money. ... Our grant is performance driven, and it’s sought after by competitive forces,” Keller said. “If this agency doesn’t produce, they stand a risk of not having the task force funded. That money will go someplace else — to another county that would love to have it.” -
HOME STRETCH
Less than a decade ago, Pleasant Hill was a pastoral community. Modern homes were tucked among shaded lawns. Cattle grazed peacefully at day and fireflies blinked in darkness. The area was served by a friendly little road called Clifty.
Things have changed and are changing. In a relatively few days, huge electric bulbs will glow, turning night forever into day. Horseless carriages will trek in places where tailpipes have belched never before. -
Meth lab raided thanks to Cruise
Two Pulaski residents were arrested yesterday as a result of their involvement in a methamphetamine lab in the basement of an East Oak Street home.
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