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April 10, 2009
WV: Sen. Rockefeller tours site of new federal prison says it is a perfect fit for moutaintwop location
Senator tours site of federal prison in McDowell County
Mary Catherine Brooks
Register-Herald Reporter
April 09, 2009
Bringing attention to the nearly 350 jobs to be created by the federal prison now under construction in the McDowell County industrial park, Sen. Jay Rockefeller toured the facility Thursday.
The federal prison is a perfect fit for the isolated mountaintop location, Rockefeller explained.
“This will be a huge job producer,” he said. “I’ve been coming to McDowell County now for 35 or 40 years, and I’ve been watching it go downhill in terms of jobs ... This will be huge for the area.”
Rockefeller, D-W.Va., explained it is difficult to bring manufacturing jobs into the mountains, but the isolated area is “an advantage for the federal project,” he said.
“Then comes water and sewer,” he added.
The senator also promised the Coalfields Expressway would be completed; the problem is the cost, he said. It will cost about $100 million to construct the four-lane road near the prison.
“But make no mistake, these roads are all going to be completed,” he emphasized, though offering no timeline.
The Coalfields Expressway was not awarded any federal stimulus money, despite the impoverished economy of McDowell and Wyoming counties.
Rockefeller said the stimulus money was divided equally among the three congressional districts in West Virginia.
Construction of the Coalfields Expressway has begun in both Raleigh and McDowell counties, and will eventually traverse Wyoming County. The new road will be the first four-lane for both Wyoming and McDowell counties.
Nearly 350 jobs are expected to be created when the new prison opens next year in the Indian Ridge Industrial Park, just across the Wyoming County line. Sixty percent of those are expected to go to local people.
More than 600 additional jobs in service industries could be generated by the prison once it is up and running, officials said.
The prison’s annual budget is expected to put $35 million into the area economy, according to officials.
Local residents who are interested in working in the prison system — including secretaries and accountants, among other positions — are considered corrections officers first, officials noted. In the event of emergencies within the prison, those employees are expected to perform their trained assignments as corrections officers.
The jobs will include opportunities in food services, health services, management, education, recreation and computers, among other areas.
Job applications are available online at www.bop.gov.
http://www.register-herald.com/local/local_story_099221724.html
Posted by lois at April 10, 2009 05:53 PM