It amuses me that what I heard said at the Fayette Commissioners meeting is such a contradiction to what I read in The Citizen regarding the jail issue.

I attended the meeting, and I agree that many questions were not answered. The commission chairman, Mr. Harold Bost, was quoted in your paper on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2000, as vowing, “We'll stay here until sunrise if that's what it takes.”

Mr. Bost, since when did the sun rise in Fayette County before midnight? I agree to rules for a public hearing, and I can see that it can get out of hand. But, why, with so many questions unanswered, were the people cut off after an hour and a half? The reason you gave was you only scheduled an hour for questions. Why didn't Mr. Bost state he wanted to hear what the people had to say as long as they said it in an hour and a half?

I also don't think anyone disputes the necessity of a jail, which was so heartily defended. The excuses used were for the safety of our police force, attorneys, jurors, judges and marshals.

If you kept the jail intact and connected it to the current facilities to be used for persons awaiting trial, you might still be able to build a separate jail facility elsewhere to house persons already sentenced. There are alternatives; there are good arguments for the pros and cons of this issue; it's a shame you didn't have time to hear us out.

Debbie Behlke
Fayetteville

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