With the Starke County Jail construction project pending, Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen and the county officials are still dealing with overcrowding issues in the jail. Some inmates are being housed in the Pulaski County Jail, per an agreement, to help in the overcrowding situation.
Starke County Council President David Pearman said that he hopes that agreement will continue until the new jail is built.
“The state has certified our jail for 62 beds and as we approach that number, we will continue to house inmates outside our jail in another facility. Hopefully, Pulaski County will want to continue working with us.”
Pearman added that the situation is working well for both counties.
“We’ve worked with Pulaski County before on other projects and my hat goes off to the sheriff in Pulaski County. He’s a great guy. We’ve actually toured his jail, he’s offered us words of wisdom several times and they have a really good organization there. We’ve been really glad to work with them.”
If all goes to plan, a new Starke County Jail will be built with an opening date in 2015.
