ROANOKE TIMES 

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

DATE: FRIDAY, August 25, 1995                   TAG: 9508250098
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE                                LENGTH: Medium

6 FIRMS IN THE RUNNING TO BUILD PRIVATE PRISON

The private prison company that wants to build a 1,500-bed medium-security facility in Wythe County is among six companies being considered by state officials for the contract.

Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America actually is on the list twice. It recently acquired a Kansas-based company, Corrections Partners Inc., which also made the short list.

The other four are the Esmore Group, the Bobby Ross Group, U.S. Corrections Corp. and Wackenhut Corp.

The state Department of Corrections has notified the six companies that it wants to hear oral presentations on their proposals Wednesday. The time and place for the presentations has not been set.

It is not known where in Virginia the other companies would build the 1,500-bed prison, if one of them got the contract. Kentucky-based U.S. Corrections has looked at sites in Tazewell County, and Florida-based Wackenhut has had representatives in Bland County, but apparently neither has taken an option on a potential site.

The CCA prison would be built on about 100 acres north of Wytheville.

That project generated opposition in Wythe County shortly after it was announced late last year. The county Board of Supervisors voted 4-3 to welcome it, after two board members reported favorably following a fact-finding trip to Nashville and to another CCA prison community in Texas.

Anti-prison petitioners have sought to remove those two supervisors, claiming they misused their office by accepting airplane tickets from Nashville to Texas and back from CCA. A judge ruled that there was no evidence of misuse of office for Supervisor Charles Dix. A hearing for Supervisor Olin Armentrout is pending. 


 by CNB