Does Mercer County Need A New Jail?

Editorial By Dave Schmidt, Mercer County Outlook

Does Mercer County need a new jail? YES!

Ok, let’s get this out of the way first, I no longer live in Celina or Mercer County and will not be able to vote on this issue. However; whenever I visit Mercer County or Celina and buy something I will also be paying that ½% sales tax just like you. Will that stop me from visiting my old home area? Nope.

Now we can move forward to let you know why we believe Mercer County should have a new jail.

The present jail has been outdated for over 30 years (maybe longer) and should have been built a long time ago. If you have ever been in the present jail you would agree that it has met it’s last days. Not having enough room for prisoners is just one of the space problems, the local jail is about as crammed with employees as a can of sardines. The current jail was not built with the intention of housing a 9-1-1 system that could also use some breathing room. There is only so much you can do now to improve or enlarge at the present location. The present jail might even embarrass Deputy Barney Fife and the folks of Mayberry, I’m sure it has caused some law enforcement folks to chuckle who visited in the past.

Location of the new jail has also been an issue with some voters. There is really no way a new jail could remain at the same place, unless the bank and post office want to donate land to the project. To purchase land or other sites the county does not own would also add to the cost of this project, so building on county owned land helps to keep the cost down. I’m sure the Commissioners and the Sheriff would be happy to look at donations of land from any Mercer County resident. The present jail is in a great location, easy access to the Court House and Celina City Hall, but not if you have to drive to another county to pick up a prisoner. A new jail will allow those days to be a thing of the past, no matter where it is located.

One way we could avoid a new jail in the future is to ask everyone in Mercer County or those passing thru not to commit another crime. If law enforcement continues to do there job correctly that seems quite unlikely. Let’s face it the crime rate in Mercer County is no different than the rest of the country, most likely it will never go down or go away. Paying for a new jail is probably not on the top of your to do list, but it is something that is needed no matter what we want.

I have to give Sheriff Jeff Grey and his staff a lot of credit for how they have handled this issue, up front and not hiding anything. Sheriff Grey has been giving out as much information on this project and making visits around the county to let you know why the new jail is needed. Sheriff Grey has provided local media updates for us to share with you as well why the new jail is needed. If you have ever had to be a part of placing an issue on the ballot you know it is a lot of work and you also take a lot of grief.

Our German heritage in this area doesn’t allow us to support issues, let’s face it (me included) we are a pretty stubborn bunch. We don’t like being told what to do, when to do it and how to do it and we especially hate paying extra taxes. I don’t think this problem will go away no matter what you may say to defend the view of voting no on a new jail, we need to support this issue. Do you remember the old tv car commercial – “You can pay me now or you can pay me later”. We hope you will support this issue in November.