Columbia County Jail, located at 405 Jackson Street(Picture at top of page) is a jail that hoises County Inmates, State Inmates and Federal Inmates awaiting trial. There;s a Huber work release center to the right of what you see in that picture above.
What's funny about their issues of over crowding, where they make inmates in both the secure and Huber sections slappe on mattresses on the floor, which violates state regulations and certain Sargents don't seem to care about that. The funny thing is if you look at the picture at the top of the page? The top floor of the building in that picture as well as the Huber building, are...VACANT!
Everything is there to house additional inmates but they refuse to open the upper floors up to eliviate over crowding. Why is that? Why is it when ever someone has the guts to ask, you can never get a straight answer from Jail staff? Why is it our local paper the Portage Daily Register, won't do a story on that? Why duck the obvious?
The only time these sections are used is when they decide to strip the floors or pain one section, or "pod". That's when they'l move inmates to the vacant area until the remodeling is done and then move the inmates back and shutter the floors again.
Now knowing the available room is there, knowing that they CAN use them areas, here's the obvious question nobody wants to ask or when is asked, nobody wants to give a straight answer on? The obvious question is...WHY NOT USE THOSE AREAS?
If somebody can get a straight answer, not a 'let's use this answer todasy" and then 'let's use this answer' another day, just one straight answer, please let me know, I'm sure the residents of Columbia County would love to know the answer to why the space isn't being used and why people in charge of the jail refuse to use it.
