The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-09-14
JAIL REPAIRS ARE
STARTED, WILL
COST $4,000
Judges Expect to Provide PraCtic-
ally New Jail
OTHER CHANGES MUST WAIT
Money Raised by Taxation Not
Enough to Do All That Was
Pianned.

Contractor Robert r. Pilling has
begun the work of tearing down the
wooden extension on the rear of the
Bennington county court house pre-
paratory to beginning the construc-
tion of the addition to the county
Jail
The addition will be of brick, two
stories high and will contain four
steel cells, exercising corridor and
iailor's corridor on the ground floor
and two sleeping rooms on the sec
ond The addition will be somewhat
larger than the wooden wing it sup
ercedes. as it will entirely cover all
of the land owned by the county west
of the main building.
To build the structure two stories
high it will be necessary to decrease
the length of the two windows in the
court room facing the west. In order
that the amount of light may not be
decreased third window will be
put in directly behind the judges
desE.
In the Jail addition there will be
four cells with a separate apartment
for women prisoners Large win
dows in the rear win give good light
and the cells will be made as sani-
tary as possible. There will be a
toilet and wash basin in each cell and
the cells will connect with an eXercis-
ing corridor. The construction of
the cages and the grating OF the
rear windows will be of tool proof
steel throughout. The amount Of
money available for the work will not
permit improvements in the old Jail
further than the cutting of an OPEN
ing in the wall to permit the ingress
Of light from the rear windows and
the removal OF the old wooden floor
placed over the concrete some years
ago.
In the jailor's quarters it will he
necessary to use one of the present
sleeping rooms for dining room and
to convert the present dining room in
to a kitchen. A stairway from the kit
chen will lead to the sleeping rooms
on the second floor.
The architect William c. Bull. who
made the plans and who has the sup
ervision of the work. states that the
amount OF money available under
legislative act will not permit the max
ing of the proposed changes in court
house The tax OF three cents on the
grand list of the county for 1915 and
three cents on the list of 1916 will
raise less than $4,000. Nearly q
thousand of this sum must be eXpend
ell at Manchester. The act provid-
ing for the changes is as follows:
Section l. There is hereby asses
sed tax of three cents on the dollar
of the grand list of 1915 and of three
cents on the dollar of the grand list
of 1916 of the several towns of the
county of Bennington, for the pur-
pose of paying the Indebtedness of
said county, defraying the current
expenses. repairing the jail and court
house at Bennington, by building a
judges room, attorneys room, furn-
ishing proper light for the court
room, and to provide a toilet for the
judges room, building a vault for the
probate office in the court house at
Manchester.
Sec. 2.-The treasurer of said
county shall, on or before the first
day of July of such years, issue his
warrant for the collection of said tax
in the manner required by law. Sci
ectmen of the several towns shall
make out and deliver to the proper
officers, tax bills for the collection of
said tax in the month of July in each
of said years, or the selectmen to
whom the warrant for the collection
of said tax are transmitted, shall
draw an order on the town treasurer
for the amount of the tax assessed
in each OF said years and such tax
shall be collected and paid to the
country treasurer on or before the
first day of October in each year
Sec g. Crosby A. Perry of Reads
boro and II. n Shaw of Manchester
and j. X. Bachelor of Arlington are
hereby appointed commissioners to
make the repairs, including the toilet
and necessary plumbing, building the
vault at an expense not to exceed ten
thousand dollars; shall have the en-
tire direction of the same, may draw
their orders upon the county treasur-
er to defray such expenses, including
those to said Jail provided the plans
for said Jail repairs shall be approv-