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Clint Walker
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Michael Hudson
DUNLAP, Tenn. — A local panel of jail inspectors formed a year ago to check operations at the Sequatchie County Justice Center never got off the ground, officials said.
Sheriff’s Department Deputy Chief Clint Walker said he hasn’t seen the panel but thinks the idea probably lost traction with former County Executive David B. Barker’s decline in health.
“I don’t know what happened to (the idea),” Deputy Chief Walker said. “They brought it up at the last (county) commission meeting, and they wanted them to actually start doing their quarterly inspections.”
He said the panel was formed to provide “independent oversight” of jail maintenance and to verify needs that jail officials bring before commissioners.
Tennessee law doesn’t require local inspectors, but state officials liked the idea. Peggy Sawyer, assistant director of the Tennessee Corrections Institute, said last year that a panel could help the facility stay state-certified.
Certification is important because Sequatchie County earns $35 a day for each state prisoner it houses. Those fees help offset operational costs, according to officials.
Jakey Cooley was named to the panel last March. The group also includes the county executive, local businessman Jan Johnson and Tennessee Highway Patrol chaplain Ron Follett.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Mr. Cooley said. “It’s something that needs to be done and followed up on, and I’m willing and able.”
He agreed the delay coincided with the former county executive’s health problems.
“David just got sick, and he just never did get around to scheduling a meeting,” Mr. Cooley said.
Former Commissioner Michael Hudson was appointed to fill Mr. Barker’s position until the August county general election.
Mr. Hudson said the panel is still authorized, but he’s been too busy with the county’s budget to rejuvenate inspections.
“It’s certainly something we need to do in the near future,” he said.
He said the panel should inspect annually, if not quarterly, and that inspections would be similar to the state’s.
“The main importance is to ensure that state certification,” he said.
Chief Deputy Walker said he’s expecting a state inspection soon.
“We’re due any day now,” he said.
Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee and previously covered North Georgia education. Ben has worked at the Times Free Press since November 2005, first covering Bledsoe and Sequatchie counties and later adding Marion, Grundy and other counties in the northern and western edges of the region to his coverage. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Tenn., a graduate of Bradley Central High School. Benton ...
