As of Wednesday morning, 212 inmates were housed in Schuylkill County's jail, down from last month's peak census of 223, said Warden Eugene Berdanier told the county Prison Board.

The drop marks the results of a concerted effort to reduce the average daily population to under 277, a number set by the state Department of Corrections in May to alleviate overcrowding.The state has barred the county from accepting any new inmates who are sentenced to terms of two years to five years.While courts, probation and other arms of the county judicial system have worked to cut down the numbers.Inmates have been sent to jails in Columbia, Center, Delaware and Berks counties.A total of 43 inmates were housed out of the county as of Wednesday morning.The county is waiting for a response from the Department of Corrections to a letter sent by Prison Board Chairman and Commissioners' Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr., asking the department to modify its order conserving a consistent drop in the number of inmates being housed at the aging jail on Sanderson Street in Pottsville.Housing the inmates outside the county costs $60 a day per inmate. As of Wednesday, that came to $2,580 each day, not counting transportation costs.The money for housing comes out of the county's general fund.