By By Sheila Blackmon/The Meridian Star
March 7, 2001
DEKALB Bill Jarvis, warden at the Kemper-Neshoba Regional Correctional Facility, gave Kemper County supervisors a report on the jail's operations earlier this week.
He said Mississippi Department of Corrections officials examine security, procedures, training programs for inmates such as GED classes, food preparation and sanitation. He said they don't look at cost effectiveness but focus more on results.
Last month, supervisors told Jarvis to lay off three employees due to a state budget crunch, McGrevey said. He said the number of state inmates affects revenue. There are fewer state inmates at the prison than anticipated, so the work force had to be downsized.
Supervisors also accepted a petition from resident Starlin Wilson to expand Springhill Fire District, McGrevey said. Expanding the boundaries will bring more people into the district, lowering their fire insurance premiums. The matter was taken under advisement.
Supervisors also accepted bids ranging from $48,000 to $52,000 for drainage boxes on Cobb Road. He said bids came in about $4,000 lower than county officials expected. Supervisors awarded the contract to Phillips Contracting Company which submitted a bid of $48,222.
Part of a project to upgrade the road leading to a Tennessee Valley Authority proposed power plant site, the drainage boxes, are TVA-funded, McGrevey said.
He said he does not expect final approval until May, but TVA officials' authorizing road upgrades reinforces his belief that Kemper County will get the power plant.
Supervisors approved the purchase of a new Crown Victoria for the sheriff's department. The $21,000 car should be delivered next week.
Sheila Blackmon is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail her at sblackmon@themeridianstar.com.