|
|
| Fish Farm for Wyoming Prison |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 11/28/2005 |
|
A project that will nearly double the size of the Wyoming Women's Center includes the construction of an aquaculture facility for raising tilapia. The prison, which opened in 1984, was built for 84 inmates but now houses 106. The $17.3 million expansion will add 140 beds, enabling the Wyoming Department of Corrections to return to Wyoming 78 inmates it has been housing in a private prison in Haskell, Texas. The fish-farming operation will be similar to a mushroom-growing operation in Shoshoni that is staffed by Wyoming Honor Farm inmates. "It just seemed like it would really fit our women's center," Department of Corrections spokeswoman Melinda Brazzale said. "It's a fairly mild fish. You can cook it in lots of different manners. It's fairly inexpensive to buy and it grows pretty fast." Wyoming's prison industries manager, Leonard Handford, came up with the idea. "Colorado has a program and they're willing to partner with us," Brazzale said. "We would be shipping live fish out of here and they would process them down there." The program will employ two staffers and up to 16 prisoners. In Riverton, Wyo., inmates earn $5.15 an hour and are required to save 15 percent, up to $2,500. That amount is available to them upon release. Another 15 percent goes to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund. The rest is split among child support, restitution and the Department of Corrections to offset the cost of incarceration. Providing training and work opportunities is vital to rehabilitation, Corrections Department Director Bob Lampert said. "It's kind of a hopeless proposition to think that we can just lock people away and that something miraculous happens," he said. The Lusk construction is part of $202 million in planned prison construction across Wyoming. "The primary goal is to bring our Wyoming inmates back to Wyoming," Lampert said. Because of overcrowding, nearly 600 prisoners, or about 30 percent of the state total, are held at county jails in Wyoming or private prisons in Texas. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think