Behind bars in Weston County, Part VI

The tales of Newcastle’s earliest jails and their inhabitants
 
By Bri Brasher 
with Leonard Cash
NLJ Reporter 
 
The final installment to the timeline of Weston County’s jails is covered in this week’s issue of the History on Main series with Leonard Cash, starting again in 1979.
In February 1979, the News Letter Journal reported in “Law Enforcement Facilities Proposed” that the City Council and county commissioners proposed to remodel the then-present fire hall facilities for office space and other facilities needed for the law enforcement agencies. 
An addition was proposed to be built to the west of the fire hall to include cells and related facilities. The cost of the project was estimated at $262,000. It was also reported that the Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department was to move its equipment into the new facilities near the fairgrounds, though the building was still under construction at the time of the article. 
The News Letter Journal then announced on Nov. 1, 1979, that Mayor Ralph Updike appointed a committee to again “investigate the feasibilities of pursuing the construction of a new jail facility.” Another update on the proposed project did not hit the stands — according to Cash’s records — until Aug. 20, 1981, when the City Council voted to cooperate with the commissioners on the building of new joint law enforcement facility. 
The paper reported that “the commissioners recently passed a resolution that will put a bond issue proposal before the voters on Sept. 15 to raise funds for the facility. A total of $950,000 is proposed for the bond issue.” It was also explained that the city would not pose additional bonds for its share of the funds. Instead, it was hoping to use severance tax monies or donate present facilities that might be used. A city committee was appointed to work with county personnel.
A week later, on Aug. 27, 1981, the News Letter Journal reported in “Commissioners Urge Bond Issue Vote” that the commissioners urged voters to vote on the bond issues. Leo Perino, a commissioner at the time, is quoted in the newspaper as saying, “This facility has been planned for several years and several attempts to procure enough funds to complete this have failed. All previous bids were beyond the amounts of money available. … This jail detention center is badly needed in the area. At the present time, there is no county jail and all county prisoners must be held in the city jail. However, the city jail is no longer adequate to meet the needs of the area as there are no cells or areas for juveniles, no separate area for women, and no facilities to house serious offenders.” 
Perino added that lack of room meant that many prisoners had to be transported to other jails, creating an unnecessary cost for the county. The article said that the commissioners were hoping for city funds and possibly other donations to increase funds available for a law enforcement center. 
Switching to other law enforcement news, the News Letter Journal reported that new deputies were hired for the county, as reported on Oct. 1, 1981. Weston County Sheriff Lewis Johnson announced the addition of deputies Randy Stensaas and Michele Richter to the sheriff’s department. Richter was to work as secretary and bookkeeper to replace Shirley Tomlinson and also work as the department’s female deputy. Stensaas, a native of Lovell, with experience working for the sheriff’s department in Rapid City, was hired as a deputy. Other staff at the time included Undersheriff Daryl Brink and Deputy Jeff Knutson.
On March 11, 1982, the newspaper reported that the total preliminary project budget for the Weston County Law Enforcement Center was $1,768,800. Meetings with an architect-planner from Casper were underway to go over space, function and equipment. It was also reported that voters approved the $950,000 bond issue, and the commissioners set aside $50,000 of the bond issue for equipment. Additionally, the Farm Loan Board granted the county $325,000 and said it would possibly give another $325,000 for the project in the summer. The commissioners applied for $218,000 from Civil Defense for an emergency operational center in the new facility. 
The total facility was planned to be about 12,860 square feet, with space to include an administrative area, county sheriff’s office, city police office, secretarial areas, waiting room, labs, dark room, restrooms and a training and exercise room. Space would also be set aside for general and maximum security interviews, booking, records, communications, records/evidence vault, weapons vault, laundry, a kitchen and a storage area. The rest of the space would be filled with a detention area, control room, inmate cell groups for males and females, adults and juveniles, felony and misdemeanor crimes, and single-occupancy cells. 
An update on the project was published on July 22, 1982, in “Law Enforcement Plans Revised.” The News Letter Journal reported that the three-level facility would take 12-13 months to construct, weather permitting. It was to be built on the corner of North Sumner and West Warwick across the street from First State Bank of Newcastle. The project would be financed through the $950,000 bond issue and a grant of $650,000 from the State Farm Loan Board.
In the midst of the new center’s planning, a photo of Marvel Howell pinning a gold sheriff’s badge on her son, Don Howell, ran in the News Letter Journal. The badge belonged to Don Howell’s grandfather Charlie Howell, who was mentioned in earlier articles of the History on Main series. The photo was published on Jan. 13, 1983. 
Also in early 1984, Cash’s research indicates that the commissioners signed a contract for the jail facility with O. Wesley Box of South West Detention Facilities of Denver. The jail cells were constructed in modular units in Denver and then brought to Newcastle, though Box preferred local subcontracts for the construction work on the facilities. 
Molly Kincaid’s home was torn down around this time to make room for the facility. Cash said it was the last house in block 8, and then the entire block was owned by the city and county. The facility was projected to be completed in August of 1983, according to Cash’s records.
Work on the site occurred in 1983, and after several changes in schedule in order to comply with state regulations for fire and safety, the project was finally scheduled to be showcased for the community, according to a Dec. 15, 1983, article. The News Letter Journal announced that there would be a public open house on January 4, 5, 6, and 7. However, Cash thinks the schedule was changed to only two open house days. Around this time, Sheriff Howell also informed the commissioners that there was a need for jailers on a full-time schedule, and a female jailer was needed. Additionally, he said an auxiliary power system was needed, along with an intercom system and chain link fenced area. Landscaping and other projects continued after the building’s completion. 
Then, on Aug. 29, 1985, the News Letter Journal reported that the old county jail building north of the courthouse was to be torn down because Howell told the commissioners the drainage problem at the new facility was caused by the old jail building. Cash said that if the old jail was torn out, the lot could be leveled to get rid of the drainage problem going toward the new center. The old jail and ag building were torn down in 1987, according to Cash, who also added that the sandstone from the old jail building ended up being used for a wall around the current center to keep the landscaping in place. The joint law enforcement center across from First State Bank is still in use today.