A Vermont county sheriff is hoping to turn a long-abandoned industrial building on the banks of the Connecticut River into a pretrial detention center that would also provide transitional housing.
Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark says most of the 155 people who would be held in the Bellows Falls facility would be federal prisoners awaiting trial, but there would also be room for some state detainees and people in transitional housing.
Clark says the project would create more than 60 jobs, provide cutting-edge criminal justice services and keep millions of dollars in Vermont.
Some oppose the idea. Former village trustee Deborah Wright says the building is near a high school and some homes are located within 200 feet. She says there are better locations nearby.
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