Members of the public are invited to the grand opening and building dedication of the new Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center on State Road 8 at 550 East, east of Knox. Festivities will take place Friday, May 22. After the formal program and memorial garden ceremony at noon, tours of the state-of-the-art facility will be offered. Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin and his command staff will be on hand to answer questions, and food will be served until 4 p.m.
The new 146 bed facility will double the capacity of the existing jail. It will offer video visitation between inmates and their loved ones. County officials hope this will cut down on contraband that is smuggled into the facility. Other amenities include cells designed for ease of maintenance without disrupting inmates and state-of-the-art monitoring systems. A courtroom on-site will be set up for video arraignment to lessen the need to transport prisoners to the Starke County Courthouse for proceedings.
The new building will also house the county’s 911 center and administrative offices for the sheriff. Prisoners will be moved from the existing jail on June 1st.
