The jail's the thing
Frank Bradley Sentinel Writer

Photos by Frank Bradley TAKE A MOMENT: Sheriff Keith Lovin, Representative Roger West and Murphy Mayor Bill Hughes pause a moment following the dedication of the new sheriff's office and detention center on Friday when a couple hundred visitors showed up to witness the event and take a tour of the facility.

It's so new, they don't even call it a jail. They call it a detention center. Whatever the case, it's a place where bad guys and bad girls are held when the get into deep kimchi. It's a place where caught violators of the law are brought and locked up. Booked and put away for a time until they are bonded out, released pending trial or in some cases have the charges against them dismissed.

On Friday, the Cherokee County Office of the Sheriff and Detention Center was officially dedicated in a brief ceremony held on premises. It was also a time when the public got a chance to tour the facility with a free get out of jail pass.

"It's something we've got to have," State Representative Roger West said about the new complex. "I'm proud of this building. The sheriff and county commissioners made it happen," he said.

FORMER-SHERIFF: How sweet it is. Former-sheriff Jack Thompson relaxes in the sheriff's chair in the new office building.

Indeed, the old Cherokee County Jail had long become out of date, and the old Sheriff's Office was a wee temporary building that hardly met the needs of a growing county whose law-enforcement capability has grown more professionally in recent years.

Where the old jail had a capacity of only 43, the new detention center can accommodate up to 150 detainees.

Sheriff Keith Lovin welcomed visitors during the ceremony calling it an honor to serve the citizens of the county, expressing his appreciation for their support in bringing about the new facility. He said it would significantly help in providing efficient, effective and professional law enforcement services for the county.

Senator John Snow, who was unable to attend the dedication because he was tied up in legislative matters in Raleigh, sent his congratulations to the sheriff and county regarding the new facility. Likewise, Congressman Heath Shuler, also sent a letter expressing his congratulations to the county on the dedication of the new facility.

Visitors toured the facility looking at the inmate pod bays, there were four of them with a capacity for 120, in which detainees will be housed behind strict security double-locked doors with electronic devices. There is also another hardened holding area which will accommodate 30, including juveniles, maximum security and medical confinement.

The main area to the jail allows public visitation within a secure area with bullet-proof glassed in spaces for a magistrate and offices for a Small Claims Court, a conference room and other training rooms.

There is a separate entrance to the sheriff's department where visitors are met with receptionist Dawn Morgan, who arranges for meetings with deputies, investigators, victim advocates and administrative matters. That office is open weekdays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. It is also the place to go to get gun permits.