
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 10, 1990                   TAG: 9006100236
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-5   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ARLINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

CITIZENS VOW TO FIGHT PROPOSED JAIL CENTER

Two dozen civic associations are lining up to fight County Manager Anton Gardner's proposal for a $4.7 million center to house jail inmates, the homeless, and drug and alcohol abusers.

Arlington officials are desperate to relieve crowding in the county's jail, which now holds about 400 inmates in space designed to hold 164. A new jail designed to hold 656 inmates isn't scheduled to be completed until 1992.

Pat Henkel, president of the Northern Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the group considers Arlington's jail conditions to be among the worst in the region. She acknowledged that a lawsuit against the county is under "strong consideration."

Despite assurances from the county that security at the proposed treatment center would be tight, some neighbors said they fear criminals and transients from the facility would mix with children and others who play and jog in a park beside the site.

Opponents say the site is inappropriate and they accuse Gardner and his staff of trying to rush the issue toward County Board approval without allowing sufficient community debate.

by CNB