| Show tA Sitmtav Standard-ExamineSERVING - $u'H ItKiKlif A'vn I r 0 THE TOP OF UTAH SINCE 1888 CV'tt I'tyffMH Ron ftnw'timfl Wnjtf-- y ffftv ' SK¥1U CanM v Opinion 212001 ri U ir rii 0 0 H It ri 0 i 1 Counties imprisoned by state’s inconsistencies was ‘Build a and they will come’ now there’s a glut of empty cells First it jail r Weber County Sheriff Brad of government Slater calls this fickle process in Utah al"disappointing" and the Legislows counties to take no prislature's shift in priorities "disoners Literally gusting" Now that it's expecThe game rules on jail fund- ted Weber residents will be ing change it seems month to left holding a $37 million tab he adds "There's no commitmonth - priorities and lawment from the legismakers' favorites 2001 lature ns to how we as Agenda quickly just handle this" One year the legThis scenario is not counislature asks to Weber confined do to their part ties m easing a County Washington County recently crisis So counties build jails The opened a new Jail Political Leadership and Beaver and Milnext lawmakers lard counties will slash funding for soon open new and unoccucorrections ns their attention turns elsewhere pied facilities At the same What we're seeing in Weber time the state just opened a new pod nt the CenCounty is a perfect example of the inconsistency (attention tral Utah Correctional Fucility in Gunnison deficiency?) of the legislaIn Box Elder County which 1997 ture county residents in a much smaller facility built voted favor of a new larger y has on that based that enjoyed high jail promises is facing an unexpectthe state would pay the couned cut of $160000 And its ty to house its overflow of insheriff has even mentioned mates the "L" word layoffs The first tax increase came in 1999 when the Weber Right now with talk of layoffs Commission County prompted by the state's approved a property tax hike that glut in prison beds blame flows like water during spring amounted to $66 on each runoff Counties blame law$110 000 of home value Durmakers for lack of consistent ing the next legislative session In early 2000 the goverfunding lawmakers target the Department of Correcnor and legislators pillaged tions saying it overestimated for other state agencies to pay education in the largest Jump prison populations Corrections officials say legislators Suddenin a decade funding house to contract Weber's unfairly enticed counties to ly build 205 inmates at $43 a day evapBut the fact is when it orated Still the Jail opened comes to funding the buck last August empty cells and stops with the legislature all When commissioners talBudgeting for state needs is Its primary Job There are lied the 2001 budget in November the facility's stuffing many issues on which state lawmakers look far into the and maintenance consumed future Corrections doesn’t the largest portion of the budseem to be one of them get In other words Weber must tukc a longer taxpayers are puying more for the new Jull than any other more uniform view of its cure of prisoners As House Majorpart of county government -at the same time the state has ity leader Kevin Garn IMey-tocut Its corrections so much explains "We need to bo a that some officials urc tulklng little bit careful This Is taxabout freeing prisoners payers' money" roller-coaste- The jail-be- d 288-be- d occu-punc- 500-bc- d Iew-muke- rs n r tov 4 — L I Old line Mississippi chooses to remain so Racially polarized vote will reinforce negative image beyond its borders Old South went head head with the New -- y sippi enshrined Itself as the only state in the Union to still in Mississippi this wave a banner that symbolweek Old Dixie won the conizes in the minds of many Americans especially test going awuy The issue allegiance to a posed in the form of a bullot South Other referendum allowed voters to segregationist South states recognizing Deep choose whether to formally the Confederate battle flag as adopt the unofficial stute flag a hurtful and emotional rethat has prominently sported minder of slavery Jim Crow the Confederate battle emcivil rights resistance and blem since 1864 or a new dedeep racial divisions have divl the without elected to lessen the rebel sign racially jive rebel symbol By nearly a cross as a source of contention ! to 1 Mississippi standing margin Mississippians and alone against the tide lecldcd their future is in their to march chose smartly to the ortured past The rear With Tuesday's vote Missis - The Washington Post Ui |
