400 NEW JOBS AT GILMER PRISON WELCOME, BUT DON'T LET JAILS BECOME ECONOMIC
CRUTCH

The citizens of Glenville are undoubtedly celebrating the coming of between
350-400 jobs when a 1,250-bed federal prison opens possibly by next
October. And well they should. Gilmer County, like many West Virginia
counties, has long struggled with high unemployment, a stagnant tax base
and a constant hemorrhaging of residents forced to go elsewhere seeking work.

It is, however, disturbing to many people this is the type of economic
development West Virginians are forced to cheer about. We can argue about
safety all day long and come to the conclusion these facilities are as safe
for residents as they can be. However, it can't be challenged that the
quality of life will be altered by the opening of this type of facility in
a county's midst. And quality of life is the best attribute West Virginia
has to offer. The opening of any facility this large in any county will
change that county. But a prison threatens to obliterate the things that
make a community. The Federal Bureau of Prisons announced plans for the
Gilmer County facility in 1998, but it had been a hotly debated subject for
many years before that date. We don't know if the rift this debate caused
has healed, but it did cause a serious division within the community.

West Virginia is a rural state with many problems. Plants are reluctant to
locate in isolated areas so many people are forced to drive long distances
over poor roads for work. An opportunity to land something that will
provide up to 400 jobs in a community can't be turned down. Gilmer County
isn't the only county standing in line to land a prison complex. Preston
County has wanted one in the past, and in our area, Doddridge County had at
one time hoped to land a facility for juvenile offenders.

The federal prison-building explosion has been used as way to revive many
rural areas of Appalachia. According to an Associated Press story, a $100
million federal prison recently opened in Lee County, Va. Four more federal
prisons, including the one in Gilmer County, are currently under
construction. And 24 more will be built by 2006, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons
officials say. "There are so many rural communities that are hard up for
jobs, they'll take prisons with much less objection than you will find in
the city," said Calvin Beale, a federal demographer.

A few years ago, many out-of-state companies proposed to build huge
landfills in West Virginia. Again the lure of jobs, albeit fewer ones, was
the carrot held out as an incentive for this construction. The stick,
however, was most of the landfill would be taken up by trash brought in
from states that had filled up their own landfills and whose legislators
made it impossible for any others to be built there. Luckily, new laws
prevented the proliferation of these landfills. The prisons are another
form of landfill, but the jobs offer higher pay and more benefits.

So we join our friends in Gilmer County in celebrating their good fortune.
The prospect of 400 new jobs will go a long way in revitalizing the county.
We readily admit in our present economic circumstances, this is about as
good as it gets. We hope, however, that West Virginia doesn't use the
possibility of prison construction as a tool for economic development.
Something seems inherently wrong with depending on the growth of crime to
help fuel economic growth. The people in this state deserve better than
this. Much better.