The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-01-19

REPORT ON COUNTY BUILDINGS
State Board of Health Findings Here
and at Manchester.

report of the state board OF health
relative to the county buildings in
this village and at Manchester.
Copies of the report were served
upon the assistant judges of county
court and upon Sheriff Frederick
Godfrey.
| The communication of the board
accompanying the report reads as fol-
lows:
Enclosed herewith please find
copy of the report of the condition Of
! the Bennington county jails at Ben
nington and Manchester. You are
! advised that the recommendations
contained in this report are hereby
made the order OF the state board Of
health.
Yours very truly,
Charles +. Dalton.
Secretary and Executive Officer y
Report on Bennington Court House
and JaiI.
The Court House and Jail located at
Bennington were examined by this
Board on July 16, 1914. A previous
examination of these buildings was
made on August 1909. The report
OF this earlier examination described
the bad condition of the buildings and
stated that they were then unfit for
occupancy. Recommendation were
made that suitable buildings be erect
ed on new site or that very radical
changes and improvements be made
in the old building. Five years have
passed and practically the same unde-
sirable condition is found today, the
only change noticeable being new
plumbing fixtures.
A detailed description of the coun-
ty building is given in the previous
report and it is unnecessary to repeat
this here, but merely to call attention
to the general conditions so far as
they effect the sanitary character of
the premises. The building contains
four distinct but related groups OF
terooms used during court sessions
by court officials, at other times by
the jailor's family, the county offices,
and county Jail and the jailers living
quarters. The site of the building is
altogether too small for building of
this size and character. On two
sides, the walls of high buildings, but
few feet distant cut off the light
and air so that the building is prae-
tically lighted from only the front
and rear The cellar of the build
ing is very damp and the dampness
penetrates the offices above.
The courtroom on the second floor
is reached by single, winding stair
way-a dangerous arrangement if fire
should occur in the building when the
courtroom was in use. The courtroom
itself has no proper system of ventil-
alton.
The jailer's quarters on the first
floor at the rear are inadequate, 1t is
necessary to use for sleeping rooms
the anterooms of the courtrooms at
the front of the building on the sec
ond floor These rooms have to be
vacated when the court is in session.
The jail itself is at the rear of the
building on the first floor, 1t is OF an
old type of construction long since
abandoned. A few small windows.
high up In the walls. furnish smaiI
amount of light in the main corridors
while the cells are left in darkness.
Old broken masonry with many crew
ices for harboring vermin forms the
cells where the walls should be of
smooth steel. The floors are of wood
where steel or cement should be u.s.
ed. No ventilation is provided other
than the windows. no fresh air is fur
nished the prisoners and no foul air
is removed. The Jail is of insufficient
size and is often crowded to double
its capacity. There is no provision
for giving the prisoners a bath and no
means of disinfecting their clothing.
The condition of the Jail when eX-
amined was filthy in the extreme. Lit
ter or rubbish was in evidence every
where. The floors had apparently not
been swept for a long time. The bed
ding was dirty and not often changed.
The unoccupied cells were left as Va
Gated, the filthy bedding on the cots
and the litter and dirt on the floor.
The entire Jail was in a decidedly
slovenly condition.
The Jail as it stands is entirely un-
fit for human habtation. There are
many farms in Vermont where cattle
are better housed and cared for 1t is
a disgrace to the state and especially
to the county responsible for 1t that
such an institution as this is tolerated
in the state. This is no more remark
able in view of the fact that its con
dition has been known to the people
of that county for at least five years
through the previous report of this
Board.
In view of what is stated above con-
cerning the site of this county build
ing and the building itself, no chang
es or improvements which can be
made will furnish building properly
suited to the county's needs. 1t is
therefore, recommended that the
building and site be abandoned and
new site sepured and a building erect