
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 2, 1990                   TAG: 9003023276
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: CULPEPER                                LENGTH: Short

EXPANSION OF PRISON PUT ON HOLD

The state will not go forward with contested plans to increase the size of a prison in Culpeper for at least two years, Secretary of Public Safety Bob Suthard told area lawmakers.

Suthard said Thursday the Department of Corrections would not proceed with the planned 200-bed expansion of the 60-bed state Correctional Field Unit No. 11 for at least two years. The proposed expansion is the subject of a complicated court fight among the state, the city and the owner of historic property adjacent to the prison site.

Suthard approached area General Assembly members and officials before a House panel met to review legislation barring further expansion work.

In return for written assurance of the state's plans, Sen. Kevin G. Miller, R-Harrisonburg, said he would withdraw the legislation.

The expansion, begun without city knowledge last summer, is mired in a legal dispute over its impact on the nearby historic land. The state has appealed to the state Supreme Court to overturn an injunction stopping the project. - Associated Press

by CNB