By JIMMY LAWTON

CANTON -- St. Lawrence County will receive two grants from the Office of Homeland Security to help “fight terrorism” and “strengthen” the international border.

According to a resolution put forward at the St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators Operations Committee Monday, a $37,000 will be used to "facilitate St. Lawrence County's ability to strengthen its prevention and preparedness efforts along the international border."

The grant will be a welcomed budget adjustment to the St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Department, which has struggled to keep up with growing costs at the correctional facility, but it is uncertain how the grant will be used.

In recent months the county has moved around $500,000 from its contingency fund to offset costs at the jail.

St. Lawrence County Administrator Karen St. Hilaire said the correctional facility has been near capacity for most of the year, which has cost the county revenues generally collected by housing inmates from other counties.

St. Lawrence County will also receive $112,500 to improve its ability to prevent "terrorist attacks and mitigate against man-made and natural disasters."

According to the resolution the funding will be awarded to the Office of Emergency services to "enhance interoperable communications systems and enhance capabilities to respond to all hazard events."