The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

The state is looking for more than just correctional officers in Pocahontas. They also need doctors, dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists, registered nurses, licensed practice nurses and other medical professionals. However, the jobs won’t be limited to just those in the medical field. The prison also will need clerical and office workers and maintenance workers for both inside and outside of prison grounds, including skilled electricians and plumbers.
Across the state line in neighboring McDowell County, Gov. Joe Manchin on Tuesday toured the massive Indian Ridge Industrial Park in Welch. It’s the site of the new $232 million federal prison project for Welch. Site preparation work on the prison is already underway, and the actual construction of the prison is expected to begin later this year.
Manchin, who was joined by state and local officials, also toured the John D. Rockefeller Industrial Park in neighboring Wyoming County Tuesday as part of his visit to southern West Virginia. The tour was designed as a way to showcase economic development initiatives underway in the region, according to Delegate Richard Browning, D-Wyoming.
Browning, also executive director of the Coalfields Expressway Authority, said the federal prison in Welch, and the new industrial park in Wyoming County, represent desperately needed job creation for southern West Virginia.
The federal prison in Welch will include 1,280 beds for inmates, including 1,152 at the medium-security facility and 128 at an adjacent work camp, and will employ more than 300 people. The facility is expected to help pump $35 million annually into the economy of McDowell and Wyoming counties.
In addition to the state prison in Pocahontas and the federal prison in Welch, the new Stevens Correctional Center in Welch has been operational for months. It is providing more than 100 new jobs for McDowell County, and is expected to help with the local tax base as well.
The three new prison projects are in addition to existing correctional facilities in the region, including Camp 31 in the Gratton section of Tazewell, the Keen Mountain Correctional Center in Buchanan County and the Bland County Correctional Center in rural Bland County.
While it might seem like the region is becoming a prison community — that’s not necessarily the case. The prisons are just one piece of the ongoing economic development puzzle that is being assembled by elected officials across southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia.
A few other key pieces of this puzzle include the multi-use equestrian park project that is now underway for Mercer County. The equestrian project is being pursued jointly by the cities of Bluefield and Princeton, and the Mercer County Commission.
Tazewell County officials are also continuing their pre-development plans for the large-scale Bluestone Regional Business and Technology Park, a visionary endeavor planned along 680 acres of scenic land near Bluefield, Va.
The Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Trail — another project years on the drawing board for McDowell County — is now operational. The next stop for the trail is expected to be Mercer County.
The Princeton area also is seeing welcome new growth. This includes not only the new Lowes and Chilis at the Princeton Crossings, but also talk of several other new restaurant chains and related developments apparently being considered for the Princeton area. A $5 million loan recently awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture to The Charles T. “Chuck” Mathena II Foundation, Inc., of Princeton, also brings the long-awaited Chuck Mathena Center for the Performing Arts closer to completion.
When opened, the 1,000-seat theater and community center will serve both southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia. The center will be approximately 42,000 square feet with an auditorium that will provide theater quality sound, according to project organizers. A lobby and gallery area is planned for artistic displays and presentations, and areas for use as classrooms, receptions and conferences.
From prisons and equine centers to technology campuses and performing arts centers, the region is experiencing welcome growth. Yes, we are locking up hundreds of new jobs courtesy of the prisons in Welch and Pocahontas, but other key projects that promise additional growth also can be found across the region.
Charles Owens is the Daily Telegraph’s city editor. Contact him at cowens@bdtonline.com

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