New Jail Stirs Corruption in Downtown Big Spring, TX

Everyone in our small town of Big Spring knows that the new jail is a substantial issue in Howard County. The bigwigs of Big Spring have been trying for a long time now to get a new jail built in the middle of Downtown.

Let's start off with a little history behind this situation. Two years ago Big Spring had huge plans for a multi-million dollar renovation downtown. A contractor out of Ft. Worth was brought in to get started on the new plans, which fueled the excitement of our small West Texas community. Our Historic Hotel Settles, established in 1929, had been planned to be restored for some time. Some ideas included office space for lease, low-to-moderate income housing, and even restoring to its original purpose. Big plans for Hotel Settles meant big plans for Big Spring. A number of high standing political figures in Big Spring decided that this was an opportune time to buy up as much Downtown property as possible before this gentlemen got started; so they could sell the property back at a profit. Much to Big Spring's surprise, a week before plans were to get going, they would come to a screeching halt. The contractor had committed suicide. No one but the man himself saw that one coming.

That said, we'll address the jail issue. The Howard County jail has failed inspections conducted by the Texas Commision on Jail Standards due to insufficient space and inoperable cells. Most recently, a test in 2006 resulted in the temporary closure of the Howard County Jail due to their smoke evacuation system failing to meet TCJS requirements. Since the closure of the jail, repairs have been made and standards met. Howard County Jail is back in business.