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Discussion of building a new county jail has been ongoing for at least a decade, with additional taxes being levied as recently as 2020 to fund the project.
The current jail was dedicated in March of 1987 while the late Harley Melton was sheriff. It replaced a small jail located half a block north of courthouse and west of the Tivoli Theatre.
The special joint meeting last month with the Owen County Council and Board of County Commissioners to discuss the project was standing room only.
All three county commissioners – Gary Burton, Bob Curry and Joel Lowe – were present along with council members Andy Wood, Steve Carrell, Amy Casebeer, Nick Robertson, Polly Chesser and Anton Neff.
“We want to make it real clear that there is no current jail proposal on the table. There is no jail being built. It’s still in conversation. That’s why we’re all here tonight,” Commissioners President Burton said. “There’s been talk on social media that we’re raising taxes; none of that’s true.”
Burton said that the council established a tax in 2020 that took effect in January of 2021.
“Everybody in this room that is an Owen County citizen is already paying that tax, so there is no tax increase,” Burton said. “So again, just a quick update: we’re not raising your taxes and there’s no $40 million jail on the table.”
The project relies on the two government bodies working together – the commissioners are responsible for signing contracts and making decisions regarding the location, size, etc. of the jail, while the council is responsible for approving the expenditures required to build a new jail and ensure that the county can afford it.
“We have come up with, that we definitely can afford a $1.3 million payment,” Council President Chesser said. “Now whether we take that for 20 years or 40 years, that’s something that’s not been absolutely decided yet but needs to be because that affects our bottom line.”
The county currently has a little more than 2.3 million dollars saved and set aside for the project, whether it is to serve as a down payment, to help offset other costs or to help pay down the loan sooner. There is also an option for financing through the USDA with 3.5 percent interest and no penalty for early payoff.
Chris Sailors from Elevatus Architecture presented the drawings from a 120-bed, $22 million facility in Lawrence County, Missouri that is slated to be completed in May. He also talked about a $25 million jail with a similar layout in Carroll County, Indiana that broke ground six months ago.
Owen County Sheriff Ryan White said that the county jail currently averages 45 inmates but that in the summer months, they tend to have around 60 inmates. He also said that the current jail was originally built for 35 inmates.
The Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) deems that inmates be separated based on various classifications and anything over 80 percent capacity does not allow for that classification. The current jail, which is one of two remaining linear jails in the state, has an 80 percent capacity of 57 inmates, meaning that once the jail has more than 57 inmates, they cannot be separated based on the necessary classifications.
White said that the goal and what is feasible for Owen County is a 120- to 125-bed facility. Ideally, the facility would also have an on-site training facility and a large conference room known as a “war room” in which multiple agencies can coordinate their response and the desire to include the county EMA and county coroner’s office was expressed.
“We need to prepare for the future, not just look at today and try to fix a problem that we have today only,” White said. “We have to look so that our kids and our grandkids aren’t having to revisit the same problem that we have now and that they’re burdened with it again.”
Councilman Wood asked what the life expectancy is of the jail, to which White responded that it is a 70-year rated facility and that another pod system can be added if future expansion is needed.
White also spoke about a situation in which there was a missing child in July and that there was not a room large enough for the four different agencies to meet in and coordinate looking for the child. White currently works out of a former storage unit building that has been renovated for office space for the sheriff's department.
“We’re not looking for a Taj Mahal. We’re just looking for a place to be able to work. That’s what we need,” White said.
The proposed modern facility also allows for a service access hallway that would not require staff to move inmates out of their cells and provide easier access to plumbing and electricity.
According to White, the jail inspector from the Indiana Department of Corrections (IODC) said, “Ryan, you have the worst jail in the state of Indiana.”
White then shared his thoughts on the comment, “That hits home, you know one that sets us up for failure in many ways.”
He equated it to insurance.
“Every single person in this room has insurance, whether you've got car insurance, health insurance, life insurance, some type of insurance policy, every single person in here. You don't have that because you want it. That's not something that you get because you want. It's something so it prevents financial catastrophic failure in the event that something occurs and you need it. That is the same thing that this is doing. We're trying to prevent extreme financial failure, that if we were to be sued, something happened inside the jail or someone was injured, and we end up getting a lawsuit, we are going to go bankrupt. It will bankrupt our county. We can't afford to do that,” White said. “I don’t want to build a jail. The last thing I want to deal with is a jail.”
White also spoke to the condition of the current jail. He said there are 22 air handlers that need fixed that cost $10,000 each to repair. He also said that a recent failed pump that had to be repaired meant that they could not run water – which meant no showers for inmates and an inability to wash dishes and laundry.
Dan Zuerner from Garmong Construction Services raised concerns over whether or not the facility designed by Elevatus could be built for $26 million.
The county officials also signed onto a letter to explore what it would look like to partner with Monroe County to house Owen County inmates there. Monroe County would charge $37.50 per day, per inmate, and the fee does not include transportation to and from Owen County or their medical costs.
White estimated that the housing fees alone would be between $616,000 and $812,000 per year.
The need to build some sort of holding facility if Owen County did away with a jail was also brought up. And, several county officials pointed out that at the end of the 20 years, when the current tax sunsets and the agreement with Monroe County would end, Owen County would be in the same position.
White pointed out that the department runs, at least in part, on the commissary funds from having a jail. He said he has a lot of logistical questions.
Yet, a benefit would be the lack of liability for the facility or if something happened to an inmate, as that liability would fall to the regional facility.
Despite these issues, it was unanimously decided it would be worth having the information on what that partnership could entail as part of their due diligence.
“We need to know,” Carrell said after the vote.
“We wouldn’t be responsible with the taxpayers money if we didn’t at least explore this,” Chesser said.
During the meeting, the two boards also established a Jail Committee that is starting with Chesser, Carrell, Lowe, White, County Auditor Shelia Reeves and Jail Commander Bill Snodgrass.
No other formal actions were taken at the meeting.
Finally, the two boards discussed location if the county decides to move forward with building a new jail facility. Suzanne Simmerman, GIS Office administration, spoke to the floodplain in the county, which is set to be raised by two feet. This change means that the property where the current jail sits would no longer be a viable location to build the new jail as previously intended. The county even purchased and operates a neighboring storage unit property to have the adjacent land for the project.
Burton said that earlier that day, he was in talks to offer an exchange for the quarry property owned by Brett Franklin and Rusty O’Neal behind Wal-Mart and the YMCA. That property, which is approximately 30 acres, has easier access to sewer and water access. Burton said that the idea would be to exchange the approximately 107 acres that the county owns on State Road 43 that does not have easy access to sewer and water. Burton said running a sewer line to the State Road 43 property would cost $9 million.
Two of the three Owen County Commissioners are new to their positions. Those new commissioners are former sheriff Sam Hobbs and David Risk.
In fact, the only commissioner who isn’t new to the position is Gary Burton, the board's former president.
At the beginning of the commissioners’ first meeting of 2025, held on Jan. 9, Hobbs was unanimously elected president of the board, and Risk was unanimously elected vice president.
Immediately following the reorganization, Hobbs gave a monologue about what can be expected from the board moving forward.
“It’s going to be kind of a lengthy meeting. We got a lot to go through. I’m not here to upset the apple cart with anybody, but I’m going to. It’s just the nature of the beast,” Hobbs began. “I base my faith off of God being in control because He is. We’re just here to do His will and try to make the best of a community that is falling apart.”
After sharing his long-standing attendance at these sorts of public meetings, Hobbs commented on a trend.
“The thing that I’ve seen in the last several years of coming to the meetings and stuff like that is the discord and dislike between the employees, whether you’re elected or appointed or whatever, has turned into a hatred. And it’s going to end. The reason I say that is we’re a team here together,” Hobbs said. “We were elected to serve the people and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. The people have a voice. You’re taxpayers. You’ll have a voice in every commissioners’ meeting. That’s only right. I expect your ideas, your vision, your goals and your solutions to some of the problems that we have.”
Hobbs then quoted Proverbs 23:19.
“This county is going to have a vision for everybody, not just for self-centered seeking thumb-sucking selfish people. I won’t tolerate it. I won’t tolerate rude behavior from nobody,” Hobbs said. “I’m in no way here to tell anybody to pack up and get going. If you’re not doing your job that’s required of you, there’s going to be a problem.”
Hobbs then said that employees are the county’s biggest liability and the county’s biggest asset.
“We’re going to work together as a team,” he said.
He then reiterated that the commissioners do not have any authority over other elected officials. He also said that commissioners should allow for autonomy and leadership from the county’s department heads saying they have a business to run.
Hobbs was clear that department heads could and should ask for guidance and help from the commissioners when needed and said the commissioners will not interfere unless asked or unless there is an issue.
“I’m new at this part [being a commissioner], but I’m not new at being around here. I’ve seen how some people have been treated and mistreated, and rest assured of one thing. That’s coming to an end, like real soon,” Hobbs said.
Then, instead of making the usual first meeting of the year liaison appointments, Hobbs announced that those appointments would not be made until February. He cited a “legal problem” but did not go into details.
“There’s some things facing this county that is going to be revealed in the next 30 to 60 days that could change the whole outlook on certain things,” he said.
One and only one liaison appointment was made, and that was for Risk to serve as the liaison for the highway department.
“Gary cannot do that because his wife works there,” Hobbs said.
Until appointments are made in February, Hobbs said that he would serve as the liaison for the auditor’s office and appointed department heads. He noted that elected officials can go to any of the commissioners that they want.
The commissioners then began with the routine business of approving the meeting minutes and claims.
In both this meeting and the Jan. 23 meeting, the commissioners addressed the extensive and inappropriate amount of out-of-cycle claims.
The board then went on to new business.
“This is where the rubber is going to meet the road for some of you,” Hobbs said, adding that it was unfortunate that not everything was going to be good news.
The first matter that was addressed was the contract with Dana Kerr for his services as county attorney.
“We’ve been through this for a couple of months. The current attorney is not here today. He is sick. We wish him the best in his recovery,” Hobbs began. “Dana is not here today, but we have to proceed with business. This has been discussed briefly in a couple commissioners meetings. The contract that the current attorney has is on a week-to-week basis at the moment.”
“Mr. Kerr’s last day will be Jan. 31. I’m not going to sit here and bad mouth him, run him down or anything like that. He did what he did and done what he’s done for what he thought was right. He’s an attorney. I do feel and I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mr. Kerr was led down a couple roads that he shouldn’t have had to go down. That’s my two cents worth. I think if Mr. Kerr had things to do over again, they would be done different. Again, this is my opinion.”
With that, Hobbs moved to relieve Kerr of his duties as county attorney as of Jan. 31. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
“This is not the end of this story,” Hobbs said.
After allowing him to introduce himself, the commissioners hired Tony Overholt from Frost Brown Todd Attorneys in Indianapolis. Overholt has served as the attorney for the county council. The commissioners hired Overholt, who has been an attorney for 30 years, for six months. Overholt has experience representing local government.
Overholt will be paid between $350 and $375 per hour.
There is $160,000 budgeted for the county attorney. Under Kerr’s extended 2022 contract that served from week to week until the end of January, approximately $13,000 would have been spent from the $160,000 budgeted for county legal expenses.
The council separately has budgeted approximately $40,000 for their legal expenses, as Kerr did not represent the council.
At the high end of Overholt’s rate, the county commissioners would have a total of 392 hours before exceeding the appropriation. This translates to a weekly average of roughly 7.5 hours per week without going to the county council for an additional appropriation.
During the approximately four-hour first meeting, the commissioners also:
The commissioners also held a joint meeting with the Owen County Council on Jan. 23. A story on that meeting will be made available soon on The Owen News website, theowennews.org. The commissioners met again yesterday, Feb. 6, and they will meet again at 6 p.m. on Feb. 20 in the second-floor Commissioners Room of the Owen County Courthouse, 60 S. Main St., Spencer.
In celebration of its 31st anniversary, the Owen County Community Foundation (OCCF) is thrilled to announce the return of the $1 for $1 Anniversary Match Campaign, building on the incredible success of last year’s 30th anniversary event.
In 2024, nearly $200,000 was raised to support local nonprofits serving Owen County. This year, OCCF invites donors and nonprofits to make an even greater impact.
Running from Feb. 1 through Feb. 28, this match campaign offers a $1 for $1 match for donations made to Agency and Designated funds established at OCCF. These funds specifically support the work of nonprofits serving Owen County, providing them with both immediate resources and long-term sustainability.
“Spencer Main Street, Inc., took a big step forward in 2024 by establishing an agency fund with ‘our’ Owen County Community Foundation,” Julie Coffin, President of Spencer Main Street, Inc. said. “I think we don’t even realize yet how this strengthens our organization in terms of keeping us sustainable and giving us longevity. And those are vital qualities to have because we intend to keep working to make sure that Historic Downtown Spencer continues to be the heart and center of our community for another 205 years. The first word of our mission statement is ‘collaboration,’ and we are so grateful for OCCF’s support and collaboration as we all go forward!”
How the Match Works
For every dollar donated to an eligible fund, OCCF will provide a matching gift, which is designed to strengthen nonprofits in two ways:
This model allows nonprofits to meet immediate needs while building a stable financial foundation for the future.Participating Funds
Only Agency and Designated funds are eligible for the match. These funds support a wide range of causes, including youth development, historic preservation, animal welfare, community health, and more. A full list of participating funds is available on the OCCF website or by contacting the OCCF office directly. As of Feb. 5, the following funds were included in the matching campaign:
How to Donate
Organizations can accept donations in the following ways:
Join Us in Building a Brighter Future“The success of last year’s 30th Anniversary Match Campaign was a testament to the generosity and commitment of our community,” Karah Bobeck, OCCF’s Programs and Communications Director said. “We’re excited to offer this opportunity again and look forward to seeing the incredible impact it will have for Owen County nonprofits.”Nonprofits interested in participating in this campaign and establishing a fund at the OCCF, should contact the OCCF’s office at 812-829-1725.
A Gosport home was destroyed by a fast-moving fire that broke out around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
The first wave of firefighters and emergency personnel arrived on the scene a short time later to find heavy smoke billowing from the roof and flames engulfing the front porch of the home at 246 E. South St.
Homeowner Bryan Rogers was at home when the fire broke out and was reportedly unharmed, declining medical treatment at the scene from the Owen County Emergency Medical Service.
The American Red Cross was later contacted to help meet Rogers’ immediate emergency needs.
According to the Gosport Volunteer Fire Department, a cause for the fire was undetermined.
Firefighters estimated around 30,000 gallons of water was used to battle the morning blaze.
The Gosport VFD received mutual aid from the Owen Valley Fire Territory, Bean Blossom Township-Stinesville VFD, Owen County Sheriff’s Department and the Owen County EMS.
Fire personnel were called back to the scene around 12:30 p.m. where they were able to quickly squelch the rekindled debris at the home, located on the southwest corner of East South and South Second streets.
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