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| Federal Prison Brings Economic Hope to Poor S.C. County |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/21/2003 |
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In Williamsburg County, where almost one in six adults is unemployed, the shiny, 10-foot tall fence going up at the new federal prison might be the gleaming answer to the county's economic troubles. The prison, scheduled to open at the end of the year, will bring more than 380 jobs, most paying more than double the county's average personal income of $12,794. 'And were just not talking new jobs from the prison. It will also create spinoff jobs,' County Supervisor Richard Treme said before driving by a convenience store that recently opened just a few miles from the facility. A hotel will be built nearby, and a developer has constructed a restaurant and small strip mall that are set to open at the same time as the prison. But some aren't so sure the $110 million medium-security prison, set to house about 1,150 inmates, is the best answer for Williamsburg County, which sits 60 miles inland from the Grand Strand tourist beaches. Along with traditional fears about escaping inmates, some black leaders wonder whether a county that's more than 66 percent black should tie its future to a system that incarcerates so many members of their own race. Civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson made a series of speeches across his home state of South Carolina earlier this year to address several problems he saw in black communities - including building prisons in rural, impoverished areas and calling it economic progress. It's 'all about locking up poor kids for profit,' Jackson said at the time. 'They are paying $17,000 a year to incarcerate our youth but just $3,000 a year to educate them.' Treme said opposition to the prison has faded as the opening date nears and the construction work brings money into the local economy. 'Whenever you say a prison is coming, it brings an uproar for all types of reasons,' Treme said. 'But if you stop and think about it, you'll see the impacts. Not just in jobs, either.' The Federal Bureau of Prisons says the facility in Williamsburg County will employ 383 people, with at least 247 of those jobs to be filled locally in occupations ranging from officers to psychologists to laundry workers. And all the jobs pay well. |
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