Dear Sirs: Recent observations of Newton County's Old Jail seem to infer the 'experts' pitifully attempted to give to us something other than what we had all anticipated; simple, straightforward restoration.
How much did we pay those so called experts to redesign something unique, original, historical, and whose beauty was in its simplicity?
And who is the individual that approved those abominations?
The first obvious blunder is the handicap ramp which un-gloriously wraps around the front of the Old Jail, obscuring the symmetry of the porch.
This ramp obviously should have come straight onto the porch from the parking area on the right hand side of the jail. But, nooooooooo, someone had to totally destroy the front view with this monstrosity.
And so now, there are only a couple of parking places from which to access the handicap ramp instead of using any forethought whatsoever to bring it up from an area on the right side with unlimited parking spaces and without obstruction of the porch.
Next is the circle area on the other (left) side of the porch whose kiosk will further distract from the original architectural balance of the front of the Old Jail.
God help us understand how anyone could completely destroy a uniquely architectural treasure with unsightly 'modern' and obnoxious structures.
Hey, it wasn't broke and "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
Let's terminate the perpetrators, tear out the circle, throw the kiosk in the trash, and we can all share another "....wonderful day in the neighborhood!
And, umm, can we please get another architect and supervisory person together before the inside is also turned into a senseless blob?
Final thought: Whoever was responsible for the mess should be the person(s) to pay for its repair, not the taxpayers.

Sam M. Hay III
Covington