The Brown County Commission has scheduled public meetings to inform residents about a proposed new jail to be located in Hiawatha, Kan.

Public meetings already have been held in Hiawatha and Morrill, Kan. The commissioners are using the session to explain plans for the $4.4 million, 41-bed jail and a proposed half-cent sales tax that would pay back bonds used to finance construction.

The sales tax will appear on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. A county public building commission has received approval to issue $4.4 million in revenue bonds for the project.

Other jail campaign meetings will be held Wednesday at the city hall in Horton, Kan.; Sept. 24 at the community center in Fairview, Kan.; Oct. 1 in Everest, Kan.; and Oct. 15 in Robinson, Kan.

All meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. Locations for Everest and Robinson will be announced later.

Tours of the current Brown County Jail will be offered after the meetings.

Juvenile center

to close

The Atchison County, Kan., Juvenile Correctional Facility will close Dec. 8, according to the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority.

A tight state budget is forcing the action, said Commissioner J. Russell Jennings. Other potential uses for the facility — such as transformation into a youth residential facility — will be explored, Mr. Jennings said.

The Atchison center is the smallest of the three Kansas juvenile correctional facilities for males. The state’s juvenile facility population has been decreasing since July 2007.

The agency will work with the center’s 79 state employees in job searches and other assistance during the transition. The opportunity for transfer to other juvenile facilities will be offered, and a job fair will be held.

Cameron park

to host session

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will hold an informational meeting Saturday to discuss issues related to Wallace State Park near Cameron, Mo.

The meeting is set for 7 to 8 p.m. at the park’s open shelter house.

Discussion will center on the park’s general operations, including the campground reservation system and group reservations. Park staff will be present

The public is invited to attend and speak about Wallace State Park, which is located six miles south of Cameron.

Ray Scherer can be reached

at rscherer@npgco.com.