Jail opening could be summer, instead of spring

After a meeting yesterday, Oconee Sheriff Mike Crenshaw said an original projection to have the new, $16.2 million dollar jail ready by late spring may have to be dropped in favor of an early summer opening. A determination on how many extra guards will have to be hired is complicating the timetable that Crenshaw and his staff are following. “I would like to be able to open the facility at least by July,” he told 96.3/WGOG NEWS last night. Neither Crenshaw, nor County Administrator Scott Moulder came away from a meeting yesterday with a South Carolina Association of Counties official with an exact number of guards needed for the 200-bed jail. Crenshaw says Oconee County doesn’t get to decide the number of guards. It’s a number set by the state Department of Corrections in Columbia. In the meantime, work on the jail continues, even on weekends. In recent weeks, shower facilities were installed.