The Dallas County Juvenile Detention Center continued to bring good news Monday. During a meeting of the Dallas County Commission, grants totaling almost $200,000 were brought before the board for approval.

The Department of Youth Services grants, which were approved unanimously, consist of $73,548 in subsidies for Autauga, Dallas, Greene, Marengo, Perry and Wilcox counties. There is an additional $114,318 on grants for beds at the detention center.

Center director Marcus Hannah said Autauga and Pickens counties have also purchased additional beds from their general fund.

The center, Dallas County Probate Judge Kim Ballard said, continues to prove itself as an asset for the county.

“They’ve done a great job is getting this money,” he said. “This money is something we didn’t have when we built this detention center. Marcus (Hannah) has gone out on his own with other counties to get this additional money.”

Expansions to the center, Ballard said, have proven to be a wise decision.

“That has turned into a great financial decision you as commissioners made,” he said.

When the new recreation center and additional beds were officially unveiled last week, Ballard said he received lots of praise from state representatives,

“(They) said this was the best run, state of the art detention center in the state of Alabama,” he said. “It speaks well of (the commission’s) foresight for doing it and second to Marcus and his staff for running it the way it’s supposed to be run.”

All of the credit for the precision with which the facility runs, Hannah said, goes to the staff.

“Our team members deserve all the credit,” he said. “They have done an excellent job.”