Cherokee County jail given one day to place excess inmates

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- The Cherokee County sheriff is looking for new homes for some of her inmates in an effort to comply with an order from the state Fire Marshal's Office. A code-enforcement

Thursday, February 3rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- The Cherokee County sheriff is looking for new homes for some of her inmates in an effort to comply with an order from the state Fire Marshal's Office. A code-enforcement agent for the state fire marshal paid a surprise visit to the jail Wednesday and found 57 prisoners in custody -- 26 more than the jail's legal capacity.

The Fire Marshal's Office gave the sheriff one day to remove the excess inmates or come up with a plan for doing so. By Wednesday night, the sheriff's office had trimmed the number of incarcerated to 38. "We're working on it," Sheriff Delena Goss said. The fire marshal would be reluctant to close a jail, spokeswoman Shannon Rowland said. Instead, the office wants Cherokee County to come up with its own remedy for the overcrowding. "We'll have to see what they come back with as a plan of correction," Rowland said.

The fire marshal's visit came one day after a state Department of Health inspector reprimanded the jail for its overcrowding, a lack of staff and sanitation deficiencies. "It was the worst report we've ever had," Goss said