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County jail gets another warden

LISBON — The county jail has a new warden, its fourth in 18 months.

County Commissioner Mike Halleck confirmed after this week’s meeting that the previous warden, Roy Morrison, left several weeks ago, and new deputy warden Mike Porter was promoted to the top position by Community Education Centers, the private company under contract with commissioners to operate the 192-bed jail.

“We were told he resigned for personal reasons,” Halleck said of Morrison.

The jail has had four new wardens since late 2015, when Edward Sheldon was hired to replace longtime warden Gary Grimm. Sheldon lasted until about February 2016, when he quit to take another job. His replacement, Frank Kaman, left that summer after a few months on the job, followed by Morrison, who quit earlier this month.

Halleck is not concerned by the turnover in the warden position. “No. It goes on all the time all over America,” he said.

County Sheriff Ray Stone is also unconcerned. “Not really, as long as they keep sending us qualified guys,” he said, noting each of the four served in similar positions in state or federal prison systems before being hired by CEC.

“All of them have done good jobs. I just wish they would stay longer,” Stone said.

In other business, commissioners agreed to contract with the Salem Computer Center to assist when needed with the county’s 911 system. The contract is for up to 80 hours per year at a maximum cost of $6,995.

Commissioner Tim Weigle, who is chairman of the 911 advisory committee, said SCC is already familiar with the county’s 911 system from having worked on the Salem Police Department’s dispatching center, which serves as one of the answering centers for 911 calls.

The county is in the process of switching over to Next Generation 911, and Weigle said he would like to have SCC on board to help with any minor “hiccups” that may result with the roll-out of the new system that are not covered under the maintenance agreement with the system provider, General Dynamics.

Halleck also reported he had looked into spending up to $250,000 to repair and refurbish the courthouse cupola, only to learn from other counties with cupolas it would likely cost $1 million or more. He is concerned because the wooden deck around the cupola is rotting. “We don’t know how safe it is up there,” he said.

tgiambroni@mojonews.com

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