Bear Claw Treehouse

Off the grid in a childhood dream

Story by Roxann Edsall
Photos by Richard Rybka

Whether it’s the spirit of adventure we remember from Swiss Family Robinson or the memories of reading the Magic Treehouse children’s books, thoughts of treehouses often elicit smiles and fond memories.

That sense of wonder and freedom, of resilience and self-reliance often makes us remember times long gone. A treehouse is pure childhood magic.

Now imagine that treehouse on the edge of a creek saturated in history, a place steeped in the natural beauty of woods and wildlife. Sitting on a small rustic overlook, you watch the water for movement. It could be fish, turtles, beaver or otter. Beyond the creek, you hear a noise and barely catch a glimpse of a doe and her fawn slipping back into the woods. It is transformative, experiencing the wonders of nature all around.

Kitchen area

There is such a treehouse, and as a guest here, you’ll be immersed in nature throughout your stay. Even though it’s called Bear Claw Treehouse, you most likely won’t see a bear. You will see plenty of other wildlife, if you’re quiet enough, including turkey, beaver and eagles.

The last sign of a bear, though, was over 10 years ago. They say he did leave a distinct bear paw print in the mud at the edge of the creek. And, so, Bear Claw Treehouse began.

Situated in Springville between Barker Mountain and Washington Valley, this unique rental property is owned by Jim and Melany Harrelson. Featuring a translucent roof for stargazing and firefly viewing, this one-bedroom treehouse is simple, but outfitted with all the absolute necessities.

There’s a queen-sized bed and a kitchenette with an air fryer, microwave and coffee press. Guests can catch a hot shower in the 40-gallon oval tank from Tractor Supply with water provided by a Zodi shower pump.

The toilet facilities are two-fold. More delicate matters are dispersed by a pit latrine style leach system. There’s a freshly serviced port-a-potty for the more serious matters.

While they currently use a generator to power the lights and air conditioning for up to 10 hours a day, Jim Harrelson says things are about to be upgraded.  “We have gotten clearance to get electricity hooked up at the treehouse,” says Harrelson. “I put in the order last week, so it’s coming soon.” Since there is no refrigerator and no running water, Harrelson keeps visitors stocked with both water and ice in coolers on the porch.

Dining alfresco is the order of the day here. Just 50 yards away, there is a grilling and eating platform near the creek. A sign nearby reminds visitors of the history that was made on the ground beneath their feet nearly five centuries before. One could almost imagine encampments of explorers and, later, soldiers eating their rations on these very banks.

Hernando DeSoto’s team of explorers is believed to have entered Alabama near Piedmont and traveled down the Coosa River on their quest for gold. DeSoto and his band of nearly 700 followed the Coosa through the state for several months before heading west to Mississippi. Bear Claw Treehouse sits on the edge of Big Canoe Creek, a tributary to the Coosa.

Because of its abundance of available natural resources, including food and water, historians believe those conquistadors would have fished and camped nearby.

Less than three centuries later, General Andrew Jackson’s forces likely fished and camped in the same area as they headed to the nearby Creek village of Littafatchee to battle the Red Sticks in the Creek War of 1813-1814.

“There is really a great spirit on this land. There’s just so much history here,” says Harrelson. It’s something he wishes he had known more about in 2013 when he tried to get the Animal Planet series, Treehouse Masters, to design and build it. The premise of the former reality TV show was that people who wanted to have treehouses built would submit applications and if the situations were interesting enough, they might be chosen to be one featured as an on-air build.

In 2012, the Harrelsons purchased seven acres and divided it into two plots. They built their own home on five acres and saved the adjacent two acres to build an income property later. As they contemplated what type of structure to build on the two-acre plot, they received the unwelcome news that they wouldn’t be able to have a septic system. Still believing the property was perfect to support the activities of outdoor enthusiasts, the idea for a treehouse was born.

Being a fan of Pete Nelson and his Treehouse Masters show already, Harrelson submitted his application with pictures of the land. The producer interviewed them on Zoom and got back to them later with the news that they did not make the cut, ending up 26th on the list that only needed 18 for the show’s broadcast season. “Had I known the full history of the land, I believe I would have done a better job of pitching it to them,” says Harrelson.

Jim and Shep by the creek

In 2019, with his own vision in mind, Harrelson framed and built the treehouse on weekends as he had time and money. Subcontractors came in to help with specialties he couldn’t do. In October of 2021, the Harrelsons hosted their first guests, a couple from Illinois who were coming to visit relatives.

Since then, the Harrelsons have listed the property on Airbnb, VRBO and Hipcamp and have had a steady stream of guests. Guests are encouraged to bring fishing gear and fish in the creek or take the available canoe for a long explore in the water.

Apparently, guests are taking that advice to heart, as evidenced by a recent guestbook entry that reads, “We enjoyed sunset on the nightfall porch, swimming and fishing in the creek and lazing in the hammock chair while the boys fished. We loved watching daybreak through the ceiling each morning!”

Sitting on that nightfall porch, Harrelson fights back tears as he recounts the difficult journey that brought him to this peaceful place. It was another story of lives changed by the string of tornadoes that tore through the state on April 27, 2011.

The same system that brought tornadoes to Cullman and Hackleburg and devastated parts of Tuscaloosa obliterated most of the Harrelson’s neighborhood in Pleasant Grove.

Thankful to be alive and eager to leave that chapter behind, the couple found a property off Highway 23 in Springville. That’s where they are today, on a beautiful little property in the same valley that, at first sight, took away the breath of one 17-year-old Jim Harrelson, as he made his way on Highway 59 on his senior trip from Long Beach, Mississippi, to Niagara Falls, Canada.

“I was so moved when I saw the beauty of this valley, I said I’d live here one day,” says Harrelson. And he does. He offers you the chance to do the same, two nights at a time, in the magical whimsy of a treehouse.

Quilts: Mosaics of history, heart, soul

I sometimes wonder the secrets these old quilts keep or the stories they would tell if they could speak …

What hand-me-down wisdom would they impart?
Would they speak to us of love?
Of heartbreak?
Of loss?
Would they tell us their truths and testimonies?
Or wrap us in words of encouragement and hope on hard days?

It’s hard for an artist to separate their heart from hand. Feelings naturally find their way to fingertips.
Emotions inevitably sewn into stitches and pieced together into a patchwork of patterns bound together to cover and comfort future generations. And perhaps that’s the real beauty of them …
Quilts do more than keep us warm. They hold history. They keep us connected. They are a bridge between the past and the present.
A patchwork of patterns and colors pieced together by day or under lamplight glow by hands future generations would never know.

In the photo: Colt Swindall, son of Dylan and Amber Swindall

– Mackenzie Free –

Wife, mother, photographer & current resident of the unassumingly magical town of Steele, Alabama

Prescription for progress

Dr. Rock Helms continues focus
on moving health care forward

Story by Roxann Edsall
Photos by Mackenzie Free

He’s written plenty of prescriptions in his 24 years as a physician. Perhaps none has been quite as wide-reaching as the plan Dr. Rock Helms wrote for Pell City residents outlining how he would alleviate the pain of having to drive to Birmingham to see a medical specialist.

Two years after beginning his family medical practice with Baptist Health Systems, Dr. Helms, along with Dr. Bill McClanahan and Dr. Carl Frosina, opened a new medical clinic they named Northside Medical Associates. Since their opening in 2001, the facility has grown from those three doctors to 25 primary care providers.

While the increased number of primary care providers has been helpful in keeping up with the city’s growth, what has made the clinic most impactful is their partnership with subspecialties and the access to advanced care imaging available right in Pell City. No longer does a patient have to see a doctor here, then be referred to a Birmingham doctor for further treatment by a specialist.

Formerly Northside, Complete Health is a major medical facility in Pell City

The expanded care has made a huge difference for those needing medical care in the area. “There were times as administrator for Northside that I had to stop seeing patients because there just wasn’t time to run the clinic and to see patients,” said Helms. “It was a very busy time.” The partnership sold Northside to Complete Health in 2020, allowing Helms to return to his patients.

Long-time patient and Pell City attorney John Rea appreciates Helms’ dedication and the vision he had in expanding the community’s healthcare options. “His vision has been transformative for the Pell City area,” says Rea. “He and the others grew a medical operation from a small primary care practice to now becoming a partner with other specialties. Now we can just go down the road to see a cardiologist or other specialist. It’s remarkable.”

Helms has been a part of the community since his parents, Ron and Joanne Helms, moved the family to Pell City when Rock was in second grade.

He graduated from Pell City High School in 1988 and graduated from the University of Alabama. He earned his medical degree from the University of South Alabama. After a residency at the University of Alabama, Dr. Helms returned to Pell City to his extended family. “If I hadn’t,” he jokes, “they probably would have disowned me.”

Helms and his wife, Jennifer, are the parents of seven children, four of whom are adopted. They also have two grandchildren. Family is very important to him, so he makes a point to take time off to spend with them. He is very close to his parents, who still live in Pell City, and to his mother-in-law, Sarah Rhodes, also from Pell City.

While his parents inspired him in many ways, Helms’ inspiration in the medical field was and continues to be Dr. Bill McClanahan. “He inspired me to become a doctor and remains my mentor to this day,” says Helms.

Helms describes himself as a “country doctor.” Living in a smaller town affords him the opportunity to really get to know his patients and to serve the community where he grew up. “The people in Pell City are the people who made me who I am today. I enjoy knowing my patients as completely as I can,” says Helms. “It’s a more personal relationship.”

“I know him as my doctor and as a client,” says Rea. “But I also consider him a friend. I think his strongest attribute as my physician is his willingness to take the time to listen to me.”

“Listening,” Helms agrees, “is an important part of the job, if you do it right.” Recently, he listened as a terminally ill patient confided that she did not have family to guide her through her end-of-life decision-making. “I was able to help guide her through parts of that process,” he said. “Being able to help people through life-altering events is a gift.”

Helms’ patients include many of the people he grew up with, including former teachers and classmates. “One patient I see I went to college with,” Helms says with a smile. “I still aggravate him about cheating us out of money at poker in college!”

“I think practicing medicine in your community makes you do a better job as a physician,” admits Helms. “When you’re serving the community you grew up in, and are still a part of, you know you’re going to give everything. You go the extra mile for people you are close to. I think it conditions you to try harder and makes you a better doctor.”

Dr. Rock Helms and local attorney John Rea

Lizzie Jones is one of those patients Helms credits with making him a better doctor. He looks forward to catching up with her during her appointment. “She comes with Fred, her husband of 63 years. She was a dedicated professional cook for 30 years at the nursing home in Cook Springs. She comes to her appointments dressed for church, complete with a fancy hat,” Helms says. “The whole office staff looks forward to her visits and her beautiful, warm smile. She always has a wonderful attitude, no matter what adversity she has faced.”

It’s a very gratifying job, Helms says, unlike some other jobs he has had. “I’ve worked in the corporate world, where you don’t always get that,” he says. He recalls being on call one night and receiving a call while eating dinner with his family. “An emergency room doctor calls me about help with a patient. I started to have him transfer her to Birmingham, but instead, I went in to see her. She had had a heart attack. I sent her by helicopter to Birmingham and she made it through. I got to see her for her six-month checkup, and she established me as her primary doctor. She’s been my patient ever since.”

When he’s not working at the clinic or hanging out with family in Pell City, he can be found on his bulldozer or tractor or hunting on his land in Lowndes County in South Alabama. “It’s where I go to de-stress. It’s definitely in the country,” Helms says. “You have to drive 17 miles for a bag of ice!”

Rea sums up Helms’ success as a combination of personality and commitment to both community and patient care. “He could have gone anywhere to practice medicine and probably had an easier path than the one he chose. But at his core is that commitment to community.” Pell City has benefited from that commitment to expanding the medical options locally.

Helms says his second-choice career was meteorology. Fortunately for the St. Clair County area, his first choice seems to be working out just fine.

Ascension St. Vincent’s St. Clair

Same-day surgeries set standard for patient care

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Graham Hadley
and submitted by Ascension St. Vincent’s

Ascension St. Vincent’s St. Clair may have begun life as an in-patient facility. But by keeping up with technology and the latest in surgical techniques, the Pell City hospital has built a reputation as a go-to place for outpatient surgeries, too.

“I would say that we are a leader in outpatient surgeries,” says Lisa Nichols, hospital administrator. “We have excellent patient satisfaction and quality scores. Our outpatient volume continues to grow. “

Ascension St. Vincent’s St. Clair’s surgical services department has provided care to more than 5,500 patients in the past 12 months, with that breaking down to 2,691 outpatient surgeries, 171 inpatient surgeries, 706 infusion treatments and 1,932 GI procedures.

Surgeons who use the hospital are able to perform total joint replacements as outpatient procedures. Patients come in five to seven days before surgery, to meet with a pre-admission testing nurse to make sure that all the patient’s needed resources are ready when they go home, Nichols says. “Before the total joint patients have surgery we want to make sure they have everything they need so they can successfully recover at home.”

Ascension St. Vincent’s main entrance

Stacey Wachs, director of Surgery Services, says that in most cases, “We encourage patients to go home in one day.” Even total hip replacement and knee replacement surgeries no longer require overnight stays, unless the patient has other health concerns that the doctor wants monitored.

While physical therapists are lined up to make in-home visits the day after patients arrive back home, therapy actually starts before they leave the hospital. “We make sure they are up and walking the day of surgery,” Wachs says. “We have the patient’s caretaker come with them when they have their surgery, so they will know how to assist the patient when they get home.”

Same-day surgery involves many more operations than hip and knee replacements, though. Colonoscopies, cholecystectomies, appendectomies, mastectomies, thyroidectomies and colon resections are just a few examples. Many surgeries that used to require several days follow-up care in the hospital are often less invasive now. Some are handled through laparoscopy, which cuts down on recovery and healing time. “Patients themselves are wanting to go home as soon as possible,” says Nichols. “It’s better for them psychologically, too. Once they are home, we make follow-up calls to keep up with their progress.”

Having an outpatient surgical procedure can be a less expensive option than a surgical procedure that requires a hospital stay, Nichols says. “Of course, the patient’s insurance coverage determines the amount the patient is required to pay.”

 Around 30 staff members are at work in the Same-Day Surgery (SDS) department on the high-volume days of Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. That number includes doctors, nurses and technicians who not only do surgeries but a whole lot more, such as infusion services and monitoring patients after their procedures.

“We have 10 SDS rooms that we use to get patients ready for their surgery, for those needing outpatient infusions and for the final stage of recovery prior to being discharged home,” Nichols says. “We also have one GI procedure room, three ORs (operating rooms) and a recovery room with eight bays.”

“We’re not a small-town hospital,” Wachs says. “We have the latest equipment and doctors who come here from Birmingham, Anniston and other cities for their procedures. We updated the systems in our GI lab recently, and doctors come to me daily about other possible upgrades they would like to see. We have a wish list.”

Robots that assist physicians with minimally-invasive surgeries are high on that list. “I think this facility has been kept up well,” Nichols says. “A lot of our employees live in this county and have pride in this facility.”

A new beginning

Ascension St. Vincent’s St. Clair opened on Veterans Drive near the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home in December 2011. In its first incarnation, it was in a now-demolished facility on the opposite side of I-20.

Surgical scheduler Latasha Kidd at the check-in area for same-day surgeries

Nichols has been administrator there for eight years, while Stacey Wachs has spent her entire 25-year medical career at the hospital, including her time at its former location. Both Nichols and Wachs are registered nurses.

Contrary to what much of the public believes, Ascension did not buy out St. Vincent’s hospitals. Ascension has been the parent company to St. Vincent’s hospitals in Birmingham, Oneonta, Clanton, St. Clair County and throughout the U.S. since their inception, but only recently began branding them with the Ascension logo.

“Outpatient surgery at St. Vincent’s St. Clair bridges the gap between efficiency and patient care,” says Dr. George Crawford, a general surgeon who uses the hospital. “They have found a way to treat patients respectfully and how they deserve to be treated, while at the same time being efficient and effective in preparing them for their surgical procedure.”

Those who came before

Searching for treasures in our past

Story by Roxann Edsall
Photos by Richard Rybka
Submitted photos

“It’s like finding a box of buried jewels,” says Tom Mottlau, describing the hunt that has become his happy obsession. He’s spent countless hours over the past three years researching his genealogy. For him, each discovery is a treasured connection to his family tree.

For Mottlau, it all started when he found himself cooped up at home during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. An executive with LG Electronics, Mottlau typically spent most of his time flying internationally, but suddenly found himself grounded at home with loads of time on his hands.

He had always been interested in history, particularly his own family history. With time to work on it, he subscribed to the online ancestry database, ancestry.com, and began populating his family tree with things he already knew about his genealogy.

Further research landed him in St. Clair County. Using information found on billiongraves.com and findagrave.com, he found that he had family buried at Coosa Valley Baptist Church in Cropwell. So, he headed to the cemetery, where he found the graves of two sets of great-great-great-grandparents, John James and Purlina Abbott and Samuel Patton and Margaret McClellan. Along with many others originally laid to rest at Easonville Methodist Church, their caskets were moved to the Cropwell land before the flooding of Easonville when Alabama Power impounded the Coosa River in 1964 to create Logan Martin Lake.

He’s also located many of his ancestors’ graves at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham and has made it his mission to replace those grave markers that were broken or missing.

T. Jones Abbott, Idora Abbott and Margaret Abbott

Locating information about ancestors can be a daunting process because America is truly a melting pot of nationalities. Going back several generations, many Americans find that, like Mottlau’s family, their ancestors immigrated from many different countries.

For him, those people came from Denmark, Ireland, Costa Rica, Portugal and Jamaica. He has discovered that some of his distant relatives worked to help build the Panama Canal. Others worked in the steel industry, which is what eventually led them to Birmingham.

Mottlau grew up in Miami, Florida, but now resides in Sugar Hill, Georgia. He has a son in school at Ole Miss, and the drive to visit him takes him over Logan Martin Lake. Each time he crosses over the water, he wonders about his ancestors who called this place their home.

On several such trips, he’s made a slight detour to Ashville, where he spent time at the St. Clair County Archives, digging deeper into information he’s found on ancestry websites. Originally an extension of the library in Ashville, the archives were moved to the current location in the former Ashville Savings Bank in 2007 and offer numerous resources for people researching their ancestry.

Archive director Robert Debter says the first step he always recommends in tracking down information on family histories is to check the heritage book for your county. “Every county has one,” he explains as he grabs a book off the shelf. “All the families that have connections to St. Clair County since it was established in 1818 are included in the St. Clair book.” These books include records on adoptions, wills, estates, as well as probate, civil and circuit court records.

After that, Debter recommends looking online in one of several ancestry databases, websites like ancestry.com, newspapers.com, or, for military records, fold3.com.

History buff and Ashville resident Billy Price has used these databases extensively to find out more about his own family. He spends at least one day a week at the archives and has learned that his family included two Revolutionary War veterans, two dozen Confederate soldiers and two Union solders.

Use of these databases on a personal computer requires a membership fee, but the St. Clair County archives and the Pell City library offer ancestry searches under their memberships for free. Patrons can get on one of the library computers and search their family histories on newspapers.com, which has information from American newspapers from as far back as the 1600s. Another available resource is familysearch.org.

“When I started fine-tuning my own family genealogy,” says Pell City Library Director Danny Stewart, “I started by asking my oldest family members to verify the stories that had been passed down. I would also search obituaries, deed records, titles and tax records.”

Mottlau has done all that. He can’t put a number on how many hours he’s spent on the computer running down leads. “My wife says I should have been a detective,” he says. “I’ve uncovered a lot, but just keep going deeper. I really want to find out enough to create an archive and make copies for all my other cousins.”

Mottlau also wants to find pictures of everyone in his direct line up to his great-great-great-grandparents. Addressing that goal, Stewart recommends regular searches on newspapers.com. As a frequent visitor to that website himself, he has recently discovered a picture of his mother’s great-uncle from 1906 that had just been digitized and uploaded to the website.

Sometimes, though, the actual story behind the picture is not the one passed down from generation to generation. Mottlau tells the story his grandmother told him about a picture of her dad. The story was that he was an attorney and was shot on the courthouse steps in Birmingham. After extensive research, Mottlau learned that his great grandfather was, indeed, shot in 1912, but not on the courthouse steps. He died in a pistol duel across the street from the courthouse, on the steps of the Stag Saloon. That information has been one of the biggest surprises to date on Mottlau’s ancestry quest.

On a recent trip to Pell City, Mottlau again stopped by the familiar grave sites at the Coosa Valley Baptist Church cemetery. He questions whether the burial plot of John James and Purlina Abbott might also include the remains of their son and daughter-in-law, John Henry and Idora Abbott, beneath a marker that simply reads “Abbott.” There are no records that he has been able to find that list the events or location of their burial site. It’s just another mystery that he continues to work to unravel.

After more than three years of searching, Mottlau has made progress, confirming some things he knew about his family and dispelling some as fiction. It’s a painstaking process, but he says finding out more about the family who are part of his past has been a labor of love. “I just really want to know the people they were,” he says.

Every now and then he finds another jewel. Some are rough and take some polishing. In the end, they are all part of his treasured past. And they’ll become part of the legacy that he will, one day, pass down to his own children.

New St. Clair County Jail

Improving security and
more through technology

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Richard Rybka

St. Clair County is about to open a brand new, state-of-the-art jail that will allow guards to control every valve, commode and door lock from second-floor hubs overlooking the cell blocks. The new jail will accommodate about the same number of prisoners as the current jail in Ashville and the former one in Pell City combined.

The $35 million, two-story facility, located across the street from the county courthouse in Pell City, can house 333 inmates in 54,000 square feet of space. Designed by CMH Architects of Birmingham and built by Goodgame and Company of Pell City, it is next door to where the old jail was. The old was torn down to make room for the new.

“The jury is still out as to the fate of the Ashville jail and the building next to it,” Stan Batemon, chairman of the St. Clair County Commission, said in a telephone interview. Speaking at an Open House for the new facility, Batemon said it could not have been built in Ashville because the sewer system there can’t handle it.

He said the project was financed with a $24 million bond issue and $10 million in federal COVID monies. When the county commission agreed to build the jail, it earmarked court-cost fees attached to all criminal cases toward the payment of the bonds.

“With the control of the facility done from the second floor looking down, we’ll need fewer guards and less contact,” Batemon said. “Every valve, sink, commode, door lock and every piece of video equipment will be controlled electronically by panels the jailers can monitor.”

“This is what happens when elected officials from the city and county work together,” said St. Clair County Sheriff Bill Murray. “The architect and the builders made a great team. Soon it will be my job to make it safe and keep it safe and secure for our citizens.” He also thanked the St. Clair County Commission for making the project a reality.

Cutting the ribbon, from left, front row: Chairman Stan Batemon, Sheriff Billy Murray; back row, Commissioners Ricky Parker and Bob Mize

Murray and the deputies who will be working at the new facility went through a month-long training program. They will be set to take the jail’s first inmates by the first week of August.

During the Open House, tours started in the large, secure intake area, where inmates will begin the process of getting booked. The male wing has five dorms with five cell blocks in each, and each dorm has a central commissary containing eating tables, a television and video visitation capabilities. The female side is similar but smaller, containing only two dorms with one cell block each. However, there is space to add more dorms on the female side, because the number of female prisoners is growing, according to Brody Bice, project coordinator for Goodgame and one of the Open House tour guides. “They expect to have to expand, and we have provided a place to expand the female side, which is set up like the male side,” Bice .

He said the facility was built with concrete blocks that are filled with rebar and poured concrete, making it a very secure building. Cells were shipped in from Georgia, two at a time, attached together. They already contained bunks, stools, chairs and toilets, as well as the conduits for utilities, in place.

All of the dorms, cells and accommodations are located on the first floor. So is the public lobby, which has a machine for depositing money to a prisoner’s account and a video visitation area. There will be no in-person visitation allowed.

The new kitchen area

Other main-level amenities include:

Arraignment Room

Control Room, which allows control of all exterior doors

Break room for officers and staff. One wall will have a kiosk with sandwich makings, where jail and county courthouse employees may eat.

*Administration Office

Training Room

Laundry Room

Kitchen, with walk-in freezer, commercial gas stove, and the capability of expansion

Medical wing with four cells

“We have prisoners farmed out to three other counties, and we’re paying several thousand dollars a month for that,” Chairman Batemon said. “We have all we can put in the Ashville jail right now. We’re almost ready to move all inmates to the St. Clair County jail.”

Batemon said it costs $50,000 per year to house a prisoner in Alabama, and St. Clair County is doing what it can to reduce the number of inmates.

“We already have a drug court and a veterans court to help keep some out,” he said. (See“Saving Veterans,” October/November 2019 issue of Discover.) “About 20% of prisoners are veterans. We’re hoping to add a mental court, too. We’re proud of the jail, proud of our citizens for their support of this new facility.”