Nearly three years after a Sylva woman was found dead  in the Jackson County Detention Center, the county has agreed to pay $725,000 to settle the resulting wrongful death lawsuit. 

For the first time in six years, Jackson County will have a new vendor providing meals at its jail and senior center after commissioners voted unanimously July 20 to award the contract to Georgia-based Skillet Kitchen . 

Perhaps the only true statement in a June 7 Down Home North Carolina email is that the fight against jail expansion in Haywood County is far from over, but given the rest of the email’s misleading content, it’s no longer clear if the nonprofit activist group has the credibility to remain part of that fight. 

Citing limited drug rehabilitation options, a lack of mental health treatment facilities, an inefficient justice system and overwhelming public opposition, a number of residents have again asked the Haywood County Board of Commissioners to rethink the county’s proposed $16 million jail expansion. 

As promised, members of Down Home North Carolina presented to Haywood County commissioners a budget alternative that prioritizes treatment and rehabilitation over incarceration. 

Opponents of Haywood County’s proposed $16 million jail expansion project are ramping up pressure on county commissioners to consider alternative proposals that would devote more resources to keeping people out of jail. 

A Nov. 3 report by the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office demonstrating the need for a $16 million expansion to the existing detention center hasn’t exactly met with approval from all sectors of the community. 

The Haywood County Commissioners have decided to move forward with a long-term plan to expand the existing jail at the cost of $16.4 million dollars with an added 145 new beds.

It is incredibly frustrating that our commissioners are more than willing to greenlight millions for incarceration but flat out refuse to discuss harm reduction, homelessness or treatment programs for community members. As a matter of fact, a former commissioner who is now a state representative made it his mission to degrade anyone who inquired about these issues.

A report presented to Haywood County commissioners says the county’s detention center is approaching operational capacity and because the minimum security annex needs costly repairs and upgrades, a $16.4 million jail expansion that would allow for growth through 2045 is in order. 

Joseph William Lomas, 25, of Cherokee, died while being detained at the Swain County Detention Center on Aug. 28.