Undersheriff details jail blood‑draw plan, rising calls and radio delays

Undersheriff Chad Palmer told the Newaygo County Board of Commissioners the sheriff’s office will begin offering alcohol blood draws in the county jail instead of taking arrestees to Gerber Hospital.

The change is intended to reduce transport and staffing demands. “We pay a hundred and $125 I think per blood draw at Gerber right now,” Palmer said. He said the county’s medical staff will perform draws and that initially the service will be offered to the sheriff’s office only during a six‑month trial to work out issues before expanding to other agencies. The county will run the service from roughly 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Palmer said.

Palmer described operational strains tied to rising call volume and shifting regional coverage. “Like director Child said, we were a little over 1,400 calls for service” in March, and the county showed about 200 lodgings in the jail the same period, he said. Federal inmate counts rose to about 152 the previous week and were back down to about 139 on the day of the meeting.

Palmer warned that Michigan State Police coverage is thinning in nearby counties and that Lake County is trimming patrol hours, which he said could increase demands on Newaygo County deputies this summer. He said one deputy temporarily transferred to Lake County and the sheriff’s office is actively recruiting to fill a remaining vacancy.

The office also faces equipment and contracting work: Palmer said 26 of roughly 50 recently ordered mobile radios remain unprogrammed by the state, delaying deployment. He added that portables and deputy‑worn radios already in use are encrypted and that dispatch encryption is pending state programming. “We are waiting for the dispatch radios to be encrypted,” he said.

Palmer described smaller capital and contract items coming to the board, including a kennel/animal‑shelter upgrade (no new buildings), a proposed extension of the jail telephone vendor contract that expires in June, and a planned request to change the jail’s pharmacy provider to reduce per‑prescription shipping costs (he described current per‑prescription charges as “$3 and something”). He said the kennel project will go to the county’s physical and economic development process and will not return to the board for construction approval.

Palmer also noted a routine delivery problem with the new freezer but said the unit and food were recovered, and he thanked the board for recognizing deputies of the year who appeared at the meeting.