Inmates backed up at county jails and more Chattanooga area news

photo The Corrections Emergency Response Team stands at ease Monday outside the $208 million Bledsoe County Correctional Complex. Inmates will begin occupying the complex in January 2013.

NASHVILLE

Inmates backed up at county jails

The backup of state inmates into Tennessee county jails will continue despite the opening of a new prison in Bledsoe County.

According to The Tennessean, nearly 5,000 felons are being housed by counties. Some will be moved into the new Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville, but its capacity is 1,540 inmates.

The newspaper reported more than half of the state's 109 local jails have more inmates than beds and that some hold more than twice the number for which they are certified.

Overcrowded jails risk decertification, put counties at greater lawsuit risk and increase insurance costs.

Proclamation reservations open

Visitors wanting to see the original Emancipation Proclamation at the Tennessee State Museum in February now are able to make reservations for a small fee.

The famous document is part of the Discovering the Civil War exhibition from Washington, D.C.'s National Archives.

The proclamation is making its only southeastern U.S. stop in Nashville and will be here for only 72 hours, spread over seven days.

Visitors may obtain a reservation through the ticketing office of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Those without a reservation will have to wait in line to see the proclamation.

The free exhibit will continue through September. Highlights include the original copy of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery and South Carolina's 1860 declaration of secession.


CAVE SPRING, Ga.

Historic cabin being renovated

An archaeologist and several community residents are restoring a cabin in hopes of transforming it into one of Georgia's historic sites.

The Rome News Tribune reported several experts believe the structure in Cave Spring may have been built by Cherokee Indians around the 1820s -- or earlier.

The Cave Spring Historical Society has hired archaeologist Pat Garrow as field director to excavate several one-square-meter test sites on the cabin property. The dig is set for Monday through Dec. 21.

A pledge drive has been started to help pay for the effort. Backers of the project hope to raise $6,400 to fund the cost of the excavation.

Cave Spring is about 15 miles southwest of Rome.

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