The Whitehall Ledger - Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

Sheriff Don Bell worries about the state of Lake County's jail, which like many in Montana, is regularly filled to capacity.

"My jail right now, everybody in there is on a felony charge. There's no minor, misdemeanor people in my jail, so it's really considered a max jail," said Bell.

To put this in some perspective, county jails aren't meant to house felony offenders after they receive a sentence, that's the job of state prisons.

In Sheriff Bell's 2016 annual report, the Lake County Jail processed 92 DUIs and 245 cases involving possession, distribution or production of illegal drugs. T...