The Starke County Commissioners this week held a lengthy discussion on the jail population. Pulaski County has been housing some Starke County prisoners to keep the population at 62.
Pulaski County has a 130-bed jail, and has been housing the overflow in the Starke County Jail under an informal agreement. The commissioners would like to enter into a long-term agreement with Pulaski County until a new or rehabilitated jail is available to house Starke County’s burgeoning prisoner population.
According to Commission President Kathy Norem, an adequate facility won’t be ready for another two-and-a-half years.
When the informal agreement was made, the Starke County Jail count was in the 80s, with Memorial Day weekend approaching.
Sheriff Oscar Cowen said the warm weather months usually mean more offenses and more prisoners. The sheriff is contacting his counterpart in Pulaski County, Sheriff Mike Gayer, to see if a formal agreement can be reached with the commissioners there.
