The Russell County Fiscal Court held a Ribbon Cutting and Open House for the new Russell County Detention Center on Friday, February 11th, 2011. 

Over a hundred members of the community gathered to witness the official opening of the new detention center.  The ceremony began with Brother Billy Dunbar leading the crowd in an opening prayer then introducing Judge-Executive Gary Robertson to say a few words. Followed by Mr. Stephen Branscum, President of Branscum Construction Company, "This is certainly a landmark facility for Russell County.  Not necessarily for its architectural beauty...it is one of the most state of the art facilities of its kind."

Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, Rodney Ballard gave a brief history of the progression of the jail from the old jail "which was crumbling around you," to the new facility.

Jailer Bobby Dunbar was the final speaker before the invocation and everyone going outside to conduct the ribbon cutting.  Everyone was encouraged to tour the new facility.

The new Detention Center started accepting its first prisoners on Wednesday morning, February 16, 2011.

The new 86 bed facility is a state-of-the-art correction facility.  There are both male and female dayrooms as well as segregation cells.  The kitchen is fully operational with walk-in cooler and freezer, a fully operational laundry room and inmate medical exam room.  There are also electronic video visitation stations for inmates to communicate with the public.

Branscum Construction was the Construction Manager on the Russell County Detention Center project.  The Branscum Team consisted of Project Manager David Milam and Superintendent James Gilbert.