Monday, November 8, 2010

BREAKING NEWS - Associate Circuit Judge John B. Berkemeyer calls meeting to discuss Sheriff Randy Esphorst's initiative to study feasibility of building a jail in Swiss


Published by Clark Kant, Contributing Writer and Investigative Reporter

Date:  11/8/2010
Post:  1,036

Hermann Hearsay learned this evening that Gasconade County Sheriff Randy Esphorst's recent proposal to study the feasibility of constructing a county jail at Swiss, MO, a proposal which was presented to the County Commission, endorsed by Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry Lairmore and ultimately approved and authorized for payment by Presiding Commissioner Ron Jost at the Commission's 11/4 meeting in Owensville, has NOW been challenged or at least questioned by Associate Circuit Judge John B. Berkemeyer.  Presiding Commissioner Ron Jost approved and authorized an expenditure of $2,500 for the County Sheriff to hire a consulting firm to conduct the feasibility study.  The funds have been allocated, the consulting firm has been engaged and the study actually began today.  In other words, "the horse is out of the barn"! 

As we understand Judge Berkemeyer's objection, it is believed by some that Missouri state statute prohibits the construction of a county jail at any location but the county seat.  And if this is in fact the case, as was also pointed out a few weeks ago to Sheriff Esphorst by an attorney representing the City of Rosebud, then the expenditure of $2,500 of public money will be for naught and should never have been proposed, approved or authorized for payment.

Tomorrow I will be getting a copy of the video tape which records the discussion that took place at today's County Commission Meeting, and I will be doing further research into this matter.  I understand that Judge Berkemeyer has called a special meeting for this Friday morning at 8:00 a.m.  Participants will be Judge Berkemeyer, Prosecuting Attorney Ada Brehe-Krueger, Sheriff Randy Esphorst and Southern District Associate Commissioner Jerry LairmoreJudge Berkemeyer stressed several times during the discussion that he would like for this Friday's meeting to be a very positive one.  (Note:  It is not known at this time whether notice of the meeting will be posted to the public nor whether the public may attend the meeting.)

Stay tuned for additional reporting later this week.


Reciprocal Links:
http://www.DSchaefer.Vemma.com (Nutrition For A Lifetime)
http://www.HermannMoNews.blogspot.com (The 'Drudge Report' of Hermann)
http://www.HermannAdvertiserCourier.com (Gasconade County's Newspaper of Record)
http://www.RivertownRecipes.blogspot.com (Great Local Recipes)
http://www.Time4Pie.com (Great Pie, Coffee & Conversation)

4 comments:

  1. This must be a legacy thing with the Sheriff. Not enough time to build a brand new jail from the ground up during his watch? He seems hell-bent on getting jail close to Hwy 50.

    In this day and age of homeland security and such, one would think, there must be some kind of federal grant $$$ available to build a jail right there next to the court house, where it belongs. I'm sure the Federal reserve could just print them a little extra cash, like they did for the banker bailout. I bet they could even spring for a sub-station on Hwy 50.

    After all, city police departments all over the state apply for and receive federal grants, so they can pay overtime to run sobriety check points. Seems like a jail in ever county would have a higher priority than check points in cities like Washington.

    I wonder if the 'Good ole Boy' Commission has looked into that. Of course that would mean somebody would have to look-up some phone numbers, and applying. But what am I thinking? They don't know how to look up each others phone numbers.

    I noticed Last week that the Sheriff's AD was missing from the paper. Perhaps that's how they are paying for the feasibility study. lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. RSMo 49.310 seems to speak to the issue of where a county jail may be erected. But I don't know if it is the ONLY statute which pertains, and I'm not sure exactly how to interpret its language. Do we have any attorneys in the audience who might be able educate us on this matter?

    Clark Kant

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great Job Clark! It seems the Commissioners are out-of-control. They act as if they do not have to answer to anybody. Nice to see the Judge step up to the plate!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What ever happened with the copy of the video tape which records the discussion that took place at that County Commission Meeting?

    Did you ever get it? Would be interesting to see.

    ReplyDelete