Unsanitary conditions existed in the kitchen of Tulare County's biggest jail long before they were brought to light by a grand jury investigation, inspection reports from the county health department showed Tuesday.
 
The most recent annual inspection by the health department, made last July, showed plumbing that needed to be repaired, debris in ventilation ducts, dust and grease buildup and floors covered with blood and ice. But earlier inspections of the Bob Wiley Detention Facility also showed problems.
 
In 2001, for example, cockroaches were found in the kitchen, knobs were missing on an oven and there were holes in the wall in the area where bread was stored.
 
And in 2000, the report found mice droppings, rodent nests, cockroaches and live birds in a jail warehouse.
 
The report added: "Cockroach harborage still present in facility kitchen ... this equipment is and has historically had problems with rodent and cockroach infestation."
 
The grand jury said it made three unannounced inspections of the Bob Wiley facility.
 
The report did not say when the inspections occurred, but the grand jury reported finding what appeared to be mold on the kitchen ceiling, flies swarming over food, dead insects on the oven and the floor "deep with greasy dirt and food, black from age."
 
On Tuesday, Sheriff Bill Wittman made his first response to the grand jury report, which had been posted on the grand jury's Web site Friday.
 
"We're going to have to do a lot better job of keeping the kitchen clean," Wittman said.
 
The grand jury noted that much of the work in the jail kitchen is done by inmates and suggested using either county employees or a professional cleaning service to maintain sanitation.
 
Wittman, however, said the jail kitchen does have some county employees.
"Number one is we're going to find out why it wasn't cleaned and to ensure the public it doesn't happen again," he said.
 
Wittman said Bob Wiley is short a few employees but that did not excuse the grand jury's findings.
 
"We're going to be working around the clock to get it up to standards," he said. "The person responsible is me, and I take full responsibility."
 
By law, county health departments are required to inspect jails annually.
 
"We have to review each section ... for safety and sanitation," said Larry
Dwoskin, director of environmental health. "Then we look through the facility and see if they comply or don't comply."
 
Once the report has been completed, a copy is sent to the Sheriff's Department and the State Board of Corrections.
 
If a problem is discovered, the sheriff must create a plan to solve it.
 
A recommendation of the grand jury's report was that members of the Board of Supervisors make unannounced visits to the jail.
 
One supervisor, Phil Cox, did just that, he said Tuesday, soon after he read about the grand jury report in the Times-Delta.
 
Cox said he did not see any of the sanitation problems mentioned in the grand jury report, but he did notice two minor issues: floor tiles that need to be replaced and floors in need of sweeping.
 
"Everything was stored properly, covered and sealed," Cox said. "I was impressed with the size of the facility and how clean it was. From what I saw, [the report] is a non-issue."
 
But Supervisor Steve Worthley said he did not think a visit was necessary.
"It's first the responsibility of the sheriff, and I'm confident of the sheriff's abilities ... he doesn't need me to tell him how to run his facilities," Worthley said.
 

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