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Editorials - 05/09/02Sheriff is right to beef up fire safety measures at jail |
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The terrible fire that claimed eight lives at the Mitchell County Jail should serve as a wake up call to county sheriffs and commissioners across the state. Reports indicate that many Tar Heel counties, including this one, continue to house prisoners in outdated, unsafe facilities.
Luckily for Jackson County, our commissioners acted nearly three years ago to secure funding and proceed with construction of a modern jail, which is expected to be ready in August. The opening of the new jail should eliminate many of the hazards that contributed to the Bakersville tragedy and exist in our 40-year-old jail on Courthouse Hill. In the meantime, Sheriff Jim Cruzan is to be applauded for his proactive leadership in instituting stricter safety procedures right away. Now that the Mitchell County blaze has brought home the inherent risks of older jails, Sheriff Cruzan has hired extra help to watch for nighttime fires and placed his staff on heightened alert during the day. The problem is a regional one. In Western North Carolina's 17 counties, five jails still in use date from the 1940s, and only five have been built since 1982. We are proud our sheriff and county leaders are among those who realized that while new jails are expensive, they are cheap compared to the human toll exacted in a tragedy like Mitchell County's. Jackson's new jail will feature a sprinkler system and electronic doors that will allow the jailer to open all prisoners' doors at once, facilitating their exit during an emergency. Meanwhile, we commend the sheriff for his efforts to protect jail occupants until the new facility is ready.
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Sylva board should follow its own rules |
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Let us state up front that we at the newspaper don't care how or when Sylva leaders add items to their meeting agendas. We don't care if they even have an agenda.
That said, we do feel that if they are going to implement a policy requiring unanimous consent for agenda changes as was adopted in March, they should then abide by that policy. In April, town board members changed the agenda even though one member voted "no." Last Thursday, Sylva officials heard staff reports not mentioned on their agenda, and one of those included an item of old business that resulted in board action concerning a potential new zoning classification. Again, it doesn't matter to us because we don't follow agendas; we report on the actions of local government. But citizens who might wish to understand how to be placed on the agenda proably do care and deserve a consistent policy. |
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