According to County Judge Mark Barr, the $11.57 million project is well ahead of original projections, which forecast an end to construction April 1.

“I'm extremely pleased with the way construction is going,” said Barr. “We were recently looking at having construction completed near the end of this month, but some problems with the roof have bumped that forward to around the end of April. However, that's still ahead of the original schedule, and we're looking at being able to actually move the inmates into the jail the first of April.”

Barr said the court will examine several bids for FFE — furniture, fixtures and equipment — during its Monday meeting.

“Our project architect, Jeff Heffelfinger, has looked at the bids and compared them, apples for apples,” said Barr. “Some of them we're going to have to re-bid because we didn't receive any packages on them. We'll probably accept four or five of the bids, and I believe Jeff has some new ones for us to look at.”

Barr said Heffelfinger won't be able to attend the meeting, but is expecting his associate, Justin Gilmore, to be present.

Also during Monday's meeting, commissioners will meet with County Volunteer Fire Chief Tommy Sullivan to discuss a county-wide burn ban.

“Tommy came to use toward the end of the year and told us if we didn't get substantial rain, he was going to have to ask for a burn ban,” said Barr. “And while a ban doesn't stop some of the causes of the fires, like electrical lines and railroad problems, it does help keep a higher level of awareness among local residents.”

Despite the dangerous drought-like conditions already plaguing the Crossroad area, Sullivan said the number of wildfires is down compared to last year.

“Even with the winds, things aren't nearly as bad as they were two years ago. I attribute that to people being more diligent,” said Sullivan. “Those who are burning are doing so with more care, and a lot of them are simply paying the $5 to take their trash to the landfill. A $5 fee is pretty fair when you compare it to a $1,000 fine.”

Sullivan said he and his firefighters are currently on All-Call, where all available personnel respond to every reported fire.

According to Barr, commissioners are hoping the ban will help stave off the same type of devastating fires that ravaged Howard County this time last year.

“We don't want to go through what we went through then,” said Barr. “Of course, there was a burn ban in effect then too, so everyone is pretty much holding their breath and hoping this year. It's going to be absolutely imperative that people act responsibly, or we'll be looking at a repeat.”

Also during Monday's meeting, County Treasurer Teresa Thomas will discuss personnel considerations and the payroll report with commissioners, as well as deliver her quarterly report.

County Road and Bridge Administrator Eddy Jameson will discuss road maintenance and any proposed pipeline crossings.

County Clerk Donna Wright will discuss the approval of bonds for newly elected officials, while County Auditor Jackie Olson will go over invoices and purchase requests with commissioners. Discussion regarding the possible hiring of a grant writer is also on the agenda.

The meeting is to begin at 10 a.m. in the commissioners courtroom, located on the second floor of the county courthouse. For more information, call 264-2202.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it