MONROE - Green County jail population is creeping back up this month after staying low several months in a row, according to Sheriff Jeff Skatrud.
He reported on the jail population at the monthly meeting Tuesday of the Green County Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee.
The daily average in November was 48 inmates, he said. By Wednesday morning, population had inched up to 56, with three more expected by the end of the week.
"We're packed full again," Skatrud said.
When the jail starts to get this full, the Sheriff's Department sometimes sends overflow to jails in other counties, as it did last spring.
In other business, the committee approved the purchase of a Polaris Ranger UTV, partly using money from an insurance settlement the department received after a driver in Juda accidentally crashed into a parked trailer belonging to Green County Emergency Management in early November.
Skatrud said the department will be able to afford the purchase yet this year and still stay within budget.
Before the meeting, Deputy Cody Kanable stopped by to introduce committee members to a sleek black German Shepherd named Ike. Kanable is Ike's handler, and together they are the department's new K-9 unit.
Since Ike started earlier this fall, he has sniffed out "just over a pound of marijuana," as well as some meth, Kanable said. Ike is trained to follow seven drug orders. He's also able to provide handler protection and track missing people.
"He definitely knows when it's time to work and when it's time to play. He's just 100 percent "go,'" Kanable said with a grin.
Ike whined at his feet.
"I have his ball in my pocket, and he knows," Kanable explained.
- Katjusa Cisar
He reported on the jail population at the monthly meeting Tuesday of the Green County Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee.
The daily average in November was 48 inmates, he said. By Wednesday morning, population had inched up to 56, with three more expected by the end of the week.
"We're packed full again," Skatrud said.
When the jail starts to get this full, the Sheriff's Department sometimes sends overflow to jails in other counties, as it did last spring.
In other business, the committee approved the purchase of a Polaris Ranger UTV, partly using money from an insurance settlement the department received after a driver in Juda accidentally crashed into a parked trailer belonging to Green County Emergency Management in early November.
Skatrud said the department will be able to afford the purchase yet this year and still stay within budget.
Before the meeting, Deputy Cody Kanable stopped by to introduce committee members to a sleek black German Shepherd named Ike. Kanable is Ike's handler, and together they are the department's new K-9 unit.
Since Ike started earlier this fall, he has sniffed out "just over a pound of marijuana," as well as some meth, Kanable said. Ike is trained to follow seven drug orders. He's also able to provide handler protection and track missing people.
"He definitely knows when it's time to work and when it's time to play. He's just 100 percent "go,'" Kanable said with a grin.
Ike whined at his feet.
"I have his ball in my pocket, and he knows," Kanable explained.
- Katjusa Cisar