‘Roach infestation’ closes down Clark County Jail’s kitchen
Exterminators and jail staff are working to get rid of a “roach infestation” that has shut down the Clark County Jail’s kitchen.
Clark County health officials told News Center 7 this started with a complaint from the public and led to a visit from a county food inspector at the jail.
“We recieved a complaint about roaches in the kitchen at the jail so within 24 hours, we inspect those complaints,” said Charles Patterson, Clark County Combined Health District Health Commissioner.
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The Clark County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy told News Center 7 the infestation “came out of nowhere.”
He said deputies bring an exterminating company into the jail every two weeks throughout the year to do preventative bug treatments, but this infestation has led to a different treatment program.
The report from the health department says the food inspector observed a large presence of live and dead cockroaches in the kitchen and walk in cooler.
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Patterson says the health district did not order the kitchen closed, but the sheriff’s office told News Center 7 they made the call to close the kitchen on their own for a deep cleaning and for the roach treatments.
It’s still closed now while deputies bring food in from off site to prep in another area of the jail before serving meals.
Patterson confirmed the health district has no reports of food being affected or of any illness.
The chief deputy told News Center 7 they’re working on getting frozen meals brought into the jail starting Friday while they work to get rid of the infestation.
“It’s not a switch that you can flip. This is something that has to be done over time. In a few days we should get a pretty good kill on those. But the big thing here is that they’re working on it and that we keep the food safe at all times,” Patterson said.
The Clark County Combined Health District told News Center 7 they have a follow up inspection scheduled for next week at the jail.
News Center 7 will continue updating this story as we learn more.
