A much-delayed new jail for one Eastern Carolina county now has the green light to start admitting prisoners.
Onslow County Manager Jeff Hudson says as of 6:00 a.m. the county's new jail inside the Justice Complex has been certified by the state. The $57 million complex was supposed to open last summer, but that was delayed because of problems with the air handling systems in the building. Last week, city inspectors gave the county an occupancy permit for the new building.
Hudson says jailers are already moving in equipment into the new jail, and now the sheriff has to hire more qualified jailers to staff the larger facility that can hold 528 inmates.
