More Talk On A Regional Jail

With Twin Falls County running at capacity in the county jail and Gooding County wrestling with security issues in that county jail, discussions are taking place to find a way to fix both problems.  Both Gooding County Sheriff Shaun Gough and Twin Falls County Sheriff Tom Carter and jail administrator Capt. Doug Hughes met with County Commissioners yesterday to see of a jail shared by both counties could help resolve some issues.  The three presented county commissioners with a proposed breakdown to fund a facility in Wendell.  If it’s built the new facility would house minimum to medium security inmates.  The current Twin Falls County Jail may be used to house high security inmates as well as those awaiting court hearings.  A proposed facility in Wendell would hold about 150 inmates.  Some of the beds could be made available for state and federal inmates to help fund it.  The counties are also looking at other funding methods such as charging families to visit with inmates using online computers.  More discussions will be held in the future to see if an agreement can be finalized.