Expansion right approach on jail

As the Loudon County Corrections Partnership Committee prepares to move forward on a plan to renovate and upgrade the current Justice Center property rather than going with a more costly option, we would be remiss if we failed to give credit where it is due.

We realize that some officials working in the local justice system might have preferred a shiny new standalone facility to house all court and law enforcement operations in one place, which could have cost as much as $47 million. But given that the county has urgent funding needs elsewhere — amid an economy that just now seems to be turning the corner — burdening taxpayers with another sweeping construction project right now was simply not feasible.