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| Perry Co. Sheriff Department Forced to Shut Down |
| By WTVF |
| Published: 06/28/2004 |
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There will only be one lawman in Perry County. Money problems are forcing the Sheriff to shut down his jail and make some painful layoffs. This is a big announcement for one of the smallest counties in the area. In the next day or two just about every employee in the Sheriff's Department will be laid off. Perry County Sheriff, Jerry Blakemore will be the only law enforcement officer in the entire county. The Sheriff says he has no choice. This year, the Sheriff's Department's budget is $20,000 in the red and the jail's budget is $55,000 over. The Sheriff blames rising medical and food costs. Last night a county commission voted to not give him the extra money. So for now he says he has to essentially shut down the Sheriff's Department. "I have no alternative, I have no money to pay them. I can't expect them to work for free." The Sheriff is not certain how long this is going to last. Certainly it will have to stay this way until the end of the fiscal year, which is the end of this month. But, when the new fiscal year starts, it's still unclear exactly how long this Sheriff's Department will have only one employee - that being the sheriff. In the meantime they're starting the process of moving the 17 jailed inmates who are in this facility to other facilities throughout the area. Since no one will be working here at the jail and it will be closed, there will be no one to watch inmates or anyone else who is arrested, so they'll have to be moved to other facilities in other counties. The Sheriff will have to rely on neighboring counties as far as being able to house inmates. Also, the Tennessee Highway Patrol is stationed in Perry County and they will be able to help with matters that are within their jurisdiction. The sheriff says people are just going to have to get used to waiting, at least for the next few days or few weeks. He can only take one phone call at a time. |
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