Converting Nevada County’s Juvenile Hall to a Youth Center is moving closer to reality. County Chief Probation Officer, Mike Ertola, says he hopes an Open House can take place by late summer or during the fall. He says prevention programs will be offered through various local youth organizations, including 4-H, the Girl Scouts, and Sierra Harvest…

Ertola says the prevention trend has dwindled their juvenile offender population from as high as 85, about seven years ago, to the low teens currently. The drop has been so pronounced that the county grand jury had been repeatedly recommending closure of the facility. But in June of last year, the Board of Supervisors approved keeping it open, through a repurposing project. Ertola says the Sheriff’s Department will also eventually move its dispatch center there…

Ertola says negotiations are also continuing toward an agreement to move the Earle Jamieson Continuation High School into the building.