The sharp drop in federal detainees at the county jail in recent months has made some county commissioners more concerned than others, but most of them say there’s little they can do about it anyway.

Between January and March, the average population of inmates housed there dropped by some 65 prisoners.

That means the Baker Correctional Development Corporation (BCDC) — which owes more than $40 million to the bondholders who funded the facility’s construction and startup — is out about half-a-million dollars it otherwise could’ve earned in housing fees.

The share of the jail’s population coming from Baker County grew by some 19 prisoners between January and March, or about 17 percent. That growth costs the Baker County Commission about $145,000.

But what’s been driving the loss in revenue for BCDC is the decline in detainees from Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons. During the three-month period, ICE’s average daily population shrunk by 26 percent to 183.16 in March, the Marshal’s by 29 percent to 38.78 and the Bureau of Prisons by 80 percent to 1.45.

BCDC collects nearly $85 per inmate per day from local and federal agencies for housing detainees.

Monday’s blustery wet weather cleared by Tuesday morning to bright skies for the funeral service for ex-BCHS football coach Tom Covington of Macclenny, who died at his home on April 18 at age 86.

Mr. Covington’s casket rested on the 50-yard line, borne there by a horse-drawn hearse (photo at left). To the left of the casket sat Wildcats from the late 1950s and 1960s when Coach Covington called the shots from the sidelines and ushered Baker County into the record books as one of Florida’s top small school dynasties.

Other past players, friends and the current BCHS team sat in the home stands.