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| West Virginia's 5th federal prison dedicated; more coming |
| By The Associated Press |
| Published: 08/24/2005 |
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HAZELTON - More than 540 inmates at the U.S. Penitentiary at Hazelton were locked down Tuesday, a few peering from their cell windows, as hundreds of people gathered for the formal dedication of West Virginia's fifth - but not last - federal prison. The $148 million, high-security complex for men and its satellite minimum-security camp on a Preston County mountaintop has beds for 1,560 inmates and already employs more than 300 people. Construction of a $76 million, 512- bed women's prison that will employ another 100 is under way nearby on the nearly 1,000-acre site off Interstate 68. "The Bureau of Prisons needs more capacity, and West Virginia needs more jobs," said Sen. Robert Byrd, who has fought for the project since 1996. "I think that adds up to a mutually beneficial partnership. "This is a worthy place," said Byrd, D-W.Va., "and employment here is worthy work." Bureau of Prisons Director Harley Lappin said the state's relationship with federal corrections predates his agency, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary. The first prison, built in 1927, also may be the most famous: The minimum-security camp for women at Alderson is where celebrity hostess and homemaker Martha Stewart served her sentence for lying about a stock sale. On Monday, the federal government announced another prison will be built in McDowell County, in southern West Virginia. The Bureau of Prisons is mainly building in rural areas. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., praised Byrd for his work on Hazelton. "This project exemplifies what I think is one of the senator's greatest talents. He has the ability to identify what West Virginia has to offer, then identify what the federal government needs on the other hand, and plot the point where they intersect," he said. |
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