Butler County commissioners have narrowed to two the options for a secure entrance to the county Government Center once the new jail is finished.

Currently, prisoners who are being moved from the adjoining jail to the Government Center's courtrooms go through a secure hallway and elevator, without having to be traverse public corridors. The new jail, however, will be a block from the courthouse.

Commissioners met recently with architects from Kimball & Associates, who designed the prison currently under construction, to discuss a sallyport, a secure entrance for a prison vehicle where prisoners transported from the jail would be received at the Government Center.

Kimball recommended the board consider three options. One would use the existing garage at the entrance to the existing prison.

Our View: Construction projects move Charleston forward

On a visit to Charleston about 30 years ago, comedian Red Skelton remarked, "It will be a nice town n if they ever get it finished."With all respect to the now-deceased entertainer, communities on the move are never finished. And Charleston is no exception.There is construction on several fronts in Charleston.Crews just completed improvements on Second Street between Lincoln and Pierce streets on the east side of Morton Park.

At the same time, construction continues on Polk and Division streets. Both roadways are being widened and improved.Polk continues to be upgraded as an alternative east-west route to Lincoln Avenue, while Division has been in need of resurfacing and curbs for some time.But the point is that the improvements are gradually being made. City officials have a plan and are moving ahead.The City Council recently started the process to widen and resurface Fourth Street from Harrison north to State Street.

Community Bancorp Completes Merger With Valley Bancorp

LAS VEGAS, NV -- (MARKET WIRE) -- October 13, 2006 -- Community Bancorp (NASDAQ: CBON), the holding company for Community Bank of Nevada and Cactus Commerce Bank (Arizona), announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Valley Bancorp. The stockholders of Valley Bancorp approved the transaction at a special stockholder meeting held on October 6, 2006. Community Bancorp stockholders approved the transaction at a special stockholder meeting October 9, 2006, and all regulatory approvals have been received.

Community Bancorp President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Edward M. Jamison, commented, "We are very pleased to welcome the employees, customers and stockholders of Valley Bancorp into our company. This merger is consistent with our growth plans as we continue to strengthen our leadership role in community banking in the Southwest."

"It was apparent that the synergies of these two institutions were similar," stated Barry L.

Sioux Falls Construction Update

Road Construction blocked and barricaded drivers in Sioux Falls this summer from driving in certain areas of town. But many of those projects are now winding down.The main artery on the west side is in its final phases of construction. West 12th Street at I-29 is right on schedule to be completed by November 15th Drivers can now go straight through on West 12th Street, but on- and off-ramps to the interstate are still under construction. Drivers can exit onto 12th Street from Northbound I-29, though. Four out of five Sioux Falls drainage projects are also right on time... in fact, one is already done. 33rd and Duluth was finished last Friday. Pendar Lane, south of McKennan Park, is set to be done this Saturday, October 14th. The area of 13th and Kiwanis is now about 97% complete, and will likely meet its November 15th deadline. Exactly one month later, on December 15th is when the 30th and Covell project will probably be done...

Office Building Construction Continues to Spike In Alberta

CALGARY/AM770CHQR - Heavy spending on office buildings in Alberta and Ontario pushed investment in non-residential building construction to another record high between July and September.
Investment hit $8.9 billion, up 1.9 percent from the second quarter, the 14th straight quarterly increase.
Investment reached record highs in two of three components - commercial and institutional, where investors pumped $5.1 billion into commercial projects, up four percent from the second quarter, and investment edged up 0.7 per cent to $2.4 billion in the institutional component.
Spending in the industrial component declined 3.5 percent to $1.4 billion.
Provincially, the biggest third-quarter dollar increase by far occurred Alberta, where investment in non-residential building construction rose seven per cent to $1.7 billion, a ninth straight quarterly gain; British Columbia was a distant second, increasing investment 2.6 percent to $1.3 billion.