The new Butler County Prison soared through its first state inspection.

Warden Rich Gigliotti told members of the county prison board last week that the new lockup received a 100 percent rating from the state Department of Corrections inspectors.

Because the inspection was perfect, the prison will not need to undergo inspection again until 2011.

It was a welcome change for the warden and county officials.

The old Butler County prison had been receiving violation notices for years because of deterioration of the building and overcrowding.

While the county avoided fines by making efforts to keep up the building, in the end, officials couldn't get around a simple shortage of space.

The county spent more than a $1 million annually to pay out-of-county prisons to house overflow prisoners, and some prisoners at the old jail had to sleep on cots.

The new 512-bed facility opened in July.

Warden Gigliotti told the prison board Nov. 10 that all of the pods in the prison have been tested and no significant problems have been found.

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