SKOWHEGAN - Speeches, a ribbon-cutting, flag-raising and guided tours are set to greet visitors this weekend during a planned open house marking the opening of the new $30-million Somerset County Jail and Sheriff's Department.

Ceremonies are set to open at 11 a.m. Saturday with a building dedication and presentations in front of the new facility on East Madison Road in Madison.

Somerset County commissioners and Sheriff Barry DeLong are scheduled to address those in attendance prior to the raising of the flags for the first time over the new, modern correctional facility.

A member of the public will be invited to cut the ribbon beginning at about 11:30 a.m.

Public tours are slated for 11:40 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

"It's a brand new, state-of-the-art facility as opposed to an old outdated facility," Jail Administrator Maj. David Allen said.

"It's a facility that is geared toward direct supervision, as opposed to an old linear-style jail."

The old jail was built in the late 1800s.