Officials, citizens celebrate passing of law enforcement sales tax

Thursday, April 19, 2007
County officials take some time from the barbecue Wednesday night to thank Billie Curtis for her generous donation of land for the new Vernon County Jail. Judge James Bickel credits the donation, in part, for the passage of the sales tax to construct a new facility for the Vernon County Sheriff's Office.

Nevada Daily Mail

Area residents joined Vernon County officials in a celebration conducted at the Nevada Elks Lodge Wednesday night, in honor of the passage of a one-half-cent sales tax that will fund ongoing law enforcement expenses and the construction of a new jail for Vernon County.

Voters approved the measure on April 3, with more than 70 percent of votes cast in favor of it, after an intense campaign highlighting the need for an up-to-date jail and sheriff's office, and the need to provide stronger financial support for law enforcement operations in general. The tax will roll back to one-fourth percent when the jail, estimated to cost an estimated $6.4 million, is paid for.

Judge James Bickel presents Lawrence Goldberg with a check for the work the architects have done helping to get the sales tax measure passed to upgrade the Vernon County Jail during the celebratory barbecue held at the Elks Lodge Wednesday evening.

On the Wednesday following the election, Vernon County Sheriff Ron Peckman said, "We are extremely excited about the election outcome. We worked very hard getting the information out to the public and it paid off. We should break ground on the new facility this fall and hope to be in the new jail by the fall of next year. Right now we have to go through all the drawings, biddings, staying under our budget for this project and basically just getting down to business and get this project rolling. Thank you so much to all of the citizens of Vernon County for understanding the need for the new facility and supporting economic growth in our area."

County officials and citizens who had supported the measure gathered for the reception, at which county officials took the opportunity to thank those who had helped this happen.

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