The Lincoln County Jail was locked down Wednesday morning whilethe Mississippi Department of Corrections removed some of its stateprisoners from the local system.

“It’s just routine,” said Sheriff Wiley Calcote. “Any time yousee that MDOC bus out there, the jail will be locked down forsafety reasons.”

The lockdown only lasted about 35 minutes while prisoners weretransferred from cells to the MDOC bus, he said.

The removal of approximately 20 state prisoners was welcomed byjail officials, Calcote said.

“I was glad to see them because we needed some relief,” he said.”I wish they would come get some more.”

The jail still houses approximately 32 state prisoners and “abunch of county inmates,” Calcote said.

Some of the state inmates, who were convicted of nonviolentcrimes and have obtained trustee status, are used on the jail’sinmate work program. Inmates in the program pick up debris alongcounty roads and work in the jail’s garden to provide vegetablesfor the kitchen program, where inmates grow and cook meals toreduce the facility’s food costs.