Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Sheriff's Office Sub-Station Is Approved By JPs

A new sub-station for the Nevada County Sheriff's office (NCSO) will be opening nearer central Nevada County fairly soon.

Members of the Nevada County quorum court at its regular meeting Monday, March 13, gave their approval to Sheriff Steve Otwell to open the office at the corner of US 278 and Highway 53 at what is commonly called the Crossroads.

Otwell told JPs during the March 13 meeting, that Crossroads Restaurant owners Dennis and Karen Freeman offered the end of their building to the NCSO at no rent or utilities, except a phone line.

JPs told Otwell to have a single telephone line installed and also approved a local plus calling plan that would not charge long distance for phone calls to Prescott.

Otwell told the court that the phone line will cost $32.43 per month and the long distance plan will cost $34.95 per month, both before taxes. There is a one-time fee of $84 to have the phone installed.

According to Otwell, the Freemans had been renting the space as an apartment, but tired of dealing with the hassles of renting for profit.

Even though the sub-station is not centrally located in Nevada County, JPs agreed it was close enough to justify putting an office there in order to keep deputies from driving the extra mileage to Prescott, when it is not absolutely necessary.

The sub-station will be about six miles from Rosston, about six miles from Bodcaw and about 20 miles from Prescott. Rosston is about 18 miles south of Prescott.

Otwell gave the JPs a report of the mileage on the NCSO deputy's vehicles and told the group that he hoped this would keep extra mileage off the units. Besides Otwell's vehicles, 150,000 (or more) miles are on the sheriff's office vehicles.

There are three deputies who live in the southern part of Nevada County, according to Otwell.

Otwell said the Freemans wanted a letter of agreement for the NCSO to occupy the building and hope they would be able to earn tax credits for donating the space.

JPs told Otwell to use his current telephone budget to pay for installing the lines, and approach them at the end of the year if the budget is going to be overspent.

Otwell is planning to use surplus equipment from the now defunct Nevada County Hospital.

He also told JPs that a fax machine (either one his office already owns, or one that will be obtained from the former hospital) would be installed on the single telephone line.