By JIM LANGHAM • Feature Writer

PAULDING – There are many steps and a respectable chunk of time between considering and actually reopening the Paulding County Jail, says newly elected Sheriff Jason Landers, but the thought is crossing his mind more with each passing day.

For one thing, Paulding County spent nearly $300,000 in out-housing prisoners in 2012. Up until Dec. 1, local voters had funded at least $260,000 in bed space alone in the Putnam County Jail. Another $28,000 was spent in December, said Landers.

But, that is only the beginning of the inconvenience of out-housing prisoners away from the local facility. There are many other expenses that are difficult to document accurately.