Information taken from "The Hutchinson News", Sunday May 25, 2003

Jail ducts receive overdue cleaning

By Bill Wilson

A local cleaning firm ventured late this week where no man reportedly has dared tread - into the ductwork of the Reno County Law Enforcement Center.

The cleaning of that ductwork - rare though it may be, Sheriff Randy Henderson said - is one part of a plan that should improve sanitary conditions in the aging structure.

Lamunyon Cleaning and Restoration plowed into the LEC's ductwork, "and God, you wouldn't have believed the mess," Henderson said. "Dirt, popcorn, paper clips. Jimmy Hoffa, we haven't found."

The cleaning crew went throughout the building with multiple sets of brushes, Henderson said.

"You should have seen all the cigarette butts," the sheriff said. "And you know, it's been a long time since there was smoking in the jail. Must have been 10-year-old butts blowing out of there."

The vents in the building's administrative offices weren't much better, Henderson said. The cleaning may be the first "serious" work in the building's history, he said.

With clean ducts at hand, Henderson is moving on to another project - finding ways to prevent backed-up sewage from filling the county jail. The poorly designed duct work has been a conduit for sewage backups throughout the building's history, Henderson said.

Last year, a major backup flooded the city and county's evidence room with sewage, destroying some criminal evidence. The evidence room has since been moved into the Hutchinson Police Department's old auditorium in the LEC.

'You wouldn't have believed the mess. Dirt, popcorn, paper clips. Jimmy Hoffa, we haven't found.'

- Randy Henderson, Reno County Sheriff

But support, primarily financial, for the rest of Henderson's improvements remains up in the air, the sheriff said. Those include a water shut-off valve in the jail to quickly stop overflows, installation of drains in the day area of the cells, construction of concrete walls around the vents to keep out sewage, and pressurized relief valves in the building's air-conditioning ducts triggered by flowing water.

"At this point, I'm not sure what this is going to cost," Henderson said. "We need to get with the commissioners and see what they want to do."

Commission Chairman Frances "Shep" Schoepf said he's all for any moves that can extend the life of the current jail.

"We can't afford a new jail," he said. "This is the sort of thing we need to be doing, getting repair costs and stuff."

Commissioner Larry Sharp agreed.

"Anything short of what it would cost to build us a new jail, that's something we need to look at," Sharp said.

Reporter Bill Wilson can be reached at bwilson@hutchnews.com or at (620) 694-5700, ext. 314.