LAND O' LAKES - Even a tornado can't keep a good jail down.
Just 45 days after an EF-1 tornado tore through the central jail complex off Land O' Lakes Boulevard, the final touches were being made Thursday on the newly erected structure, replacing the one destroyed in the early morning hours of Dec. 16.
"We're ready to roll," said Maj. Brian Head, who oversees jail operations.
Moments before the tornado touched down, ripping apart the aluminum and plastic-coated, tent-like structure, jail staff safely evacuated inmates from the facility as well as from the adjacent similarly constructed domelike building. The temporary facilities - one housing women, the other men - were erected to ease crowding while a permanent building has been in the works. The women's building was destroyed and the men's was damaged.
In recent weeks, contractors built the shell of the 8,000-square-foot building but inmates have done much of the inside labor, including helping install flooring, painting and other tasks. Six to eight inmates worked full days on the project, Head said, saving the county a "substantial amount" of money, he said.
A permanent structure is coming closer to reality. The $17.8 million jail expansion should break ground in the next couple of months.
Lisa A. Davis
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