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CAPTION: Workers from Dean Machinery and Ireland Electric were working on installing a new transfer switch to the Livingston County Sheriff’s Department building this (Wednesday) morning. The building was operating with limited power during the work.

C-T Photo / Laura Schuler

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Department was operating with limited power today (Wednesday) as workers replaced a faulty transfer switch in preparation for the installation of the building’s new generator. According to Steve Cox, the building’s original emergency generator was operating at full capacity, but was powering only a few lights, the department’s radio and phone system. “It (the generator) won’t even give us enough power to open the sally port,” Cox said, explaining that the door must be manually cranked up while work is being done.

To warm the building, its staff and the 60 inmates housed there, the heater in the building was cranked up to 85 degrees at 3 a.m. Cox said staff are monitoring the temperature and checking with an indoor thermometer to ensure the prisoners are keeping warm. “All the prisoners were issued an extra heavy blanket,” Cox said. He also noted that the prisoners were in lock down while the work was taking place. Cox said that if the temperature gets too low, a contingency plan was in place to move the prisoners to an undisclosed location while the work is completed.

Cox said the Chillicothe Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol have been informed of the work scheduled at the jail. All sheriff’s department employees were also slated to work Wednesday as a precaution. The prisoners were scheduled to eat cold sack lunches and there was enough food prepared for dinner, if necessary, the sheriff said. The work, Cox said, was estimated to take as little as four hours or all day, Cox said.

The faulty transfer switch was discovered last week, Cox said, when Ireland Electric was preparing to install a new generator to the building. However, work stopped once they determined there was a faulty transfer switch that must be replaced prior to installing the new generator. Workers from Dean Machinery were on hand Wednesday after the part was ordered.