Knife

The knife has finally fallen on the Hardin "detention facility." The <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/12/04/news/state/17-hardinjail_x.txt">Attorney General has decided</a> the law states that only the Department of Corrections has authority to take out of state prisoners. <br />n<br />n<blockquote>A multijurisdictional detention center may contract for the confinement of out-of-state and federal inmates only for the purposes authorized in Montana law, which do not include confinement of adult felony and misdemeanor offenders who are committed by an out-of-state jurisdiction or the federal government. That authority has been reserved to the Department of Corrections, under narrow circumstances only, which evidences a legislative intent not to allow routine interstate exchange of inmates in and out of Montana.</blockquote><br />n<br />nMaybe Two Rivers Authority should have looked at this a little closer before they built the damn thing. Now there sits a 20 million dollar jail, empty, accruing more debt and what can be done?<br />n<br />nI don't see much that can be done in the short term. In the long term maybe the state representatives and senators in the area need to introduce a bill to change the law and allow the facility to take prisoners. Do you know what we hear from these representatives of the people? Not shit. They could care less. It looks like Hardin is really screwed on this one. If you build it, I guess they don't come after all.<br />n<br />n<strong>Don't give your advice before you are called upon. Desiderius Erasmus </strong>