RICHMOND – A voice of the opposition to a proposed quarter-cent tax to replace the Ray County Jail, Jim Pierce, said he would have preferred putting off the Tuesday, Aug. 3, vote to allow more time for research. Pierce aired his concerns during a Richmond News podcast July 15 with staff writer Shawn Roney. Pierce said he became concerned after a pro-Second Amendment issue supported by Sheriff Scott Childers won Ray County Commission approval with little warning or discussion. “I found that incredibly offensive,” Pierce said, which got him to pay more attention to commission actions. Childers also declared interest in taking 40% of the 911 Board’s budget for jail construction, but without much explanation or input. Childers eventually dropped that idea in favor of seeking a separate, quarter-cent sales tax to build an $11.5 million, 80-bed jail. “I did tour the jail. It’s pretty rough,” Pierce said. “I would have said it could be remodeled, until I read the report from HMN…