The new Lincoln County Jail is facing a pressing need foradditional personnel following an attempted suicide last week,Sheriff Lynn Boyte told supervisors Thursday.

Boyte said an inmate tried to hang himself using a sheetattached to a shower nozzle, but the attempt was thwarted when anemployee happened to spot the inmate on a jail monitor. The attempthappened while jail personnel were dealing with court-relatedmatters.

The sheriff said jail personnel levels are insufficient onTuesdays and Thursdays when justice court is in session and everyday when circuit court is going on. He said the county is “sittingon a time bomb” with its current situation.

“When it gets me, it’s going to get the whole county,” Boytesaid.

While Boyte said he is pleased with overall operation of the newjail, he said at least two people are needed to shore up itsstaffing. The sheriff said he did not have any candidates for thepositions yet.

District 4 Supervisor W.D. “Doug” Moak said supervisors willdiscuss the situation at their meeting Tuesday.

In another jail-related matter, Boyte said a list of 16 names ofParchman inmates for a county work detail program had beensubmitted and are being reviewed by Mississippi Department ofCorrections officials.

The jail has been approved for up to 20 inmates who can do workin supervisors’ district or perform other services. Statereimbursement for housing state inmates has been mentioned as oneway of helping offset costs of the new jail.

“If you’re going to work them and get paid for them, that’s twobenefits,” Boyte said.

Boyte said officials are also finalizing paperwork to allow 10federal inmates to be housed at the county facility.

The jail was housing 59 inmates Thursday, Boyte said. Itscapacity is 128 inmates.

Thursday’s meeting was devoted largely to awarding yearly bidsfor county supplies and services. Much of the discussion centeredaround the county’s choice for bank depository.

In a departure from years past, supervisors voted to name threebanks, State Bank, Bank of Brookhaven and Trustmark, as countydepositories. Traditionally, State Bank had been the countydepository while Trustmark has handled city accounts.

Naming all three banks as depositories will allow them to bid onmonthly certificates of deposit, county officials said. Thecompetition should allow for better interest rates on the CDs.

Supervisors also voted to divide the county’s checking accountsbetween State Bank and Bank of Brookhaven. After some discussion,the board approved dividing the county’s six accounts on anapproximately 65 percent-35 percent basis.

Citing a past history of good service, District 1 SupervisorCliff Givens was a strong proponent of State Bank while Moak backedthe Bank of Brookhaven. He cited the new bank’s local ownership anda desire to spread county business around.

“I don’t think we should penalize them just because they’re thenew kids on the block,” Moak said.

In suggesting a possible desire to rebid, District 3 SupervisorNolan Earl Williamson expressed concerns about “picking apart” bidsand dividing them.

“I’d like to see it all in one pile. If you’ve got the bestprice, you get it,” Williamson said.

County officials said its three administrative accounts have anaverage daily balance of $400,000-$500,000, while the solid wasteaccount averages $25,000 a day. The two justice court accounts haveabout $150,000.

With “sweep accounts” offered by the banks, officials hope torealize additional interest revenue by having any unused checkingfunds swept into a higher interest-bearing account. ComptrollerDavid Fields said the sweep accounts could offer rates severalpoints higher than standard interest checking accounts.

With variable rates, it was difficult to determine how much morethe county could receive. However, one example offered in a bidindicated the county could get in excess of $12,000 on a $500,000account.

Moak supported an even division of accounts, but othersupervisors favored the 65-35 split. The vote was 3-1-1, with Moakopposed and Givens abstaining due to a family connection with StateBank.

“I’d like to see us do a little more with Bank of Brookhaven,but I can live with it,” Moak said.

Due to labor involved in changing checking accounts, the votewas for a two-year period.

Also Thursday, Civil Defense Coordinator Clifford Galey said anarea around his office is ready to be cleared for use as animpounded vehicle storage lot. Due to new tougher DUI laws,officials are expecting an increase in impounded vehicles anddesignated the civil defense lot for storage.

Galey expressed appreciation to Boyte for jail work crewassistance in cleaning up the lot. He asked supervisors to schedulebush hog work to complete the clean up.

Also, Bogue Chitto Volunteer Fire Department’s new truck is inthe shop for a mechanical glitch. Galey said the vehicle’s “checkengine” light is coming on and mechanics are trying to determinethe reason.

“It’s nothing major,” Galey said, although the glitch ispreventing the truck from being put into service.