Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 31, 1995 TAG: 9508310053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT LITTLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short
So she and a small group of other die-hards carpooled across the state to protest a medium-security prison that a Tennessee company wants to build near Wytheville.
About 15 county residents lined the driveway of the Department of Corrections with signs reading ``Prison, No'' and ``Prove it's not a done deal.''
Inside, corrections officials were interviewing representatives from the five companies vying for a contract to build a 1,500-bed prison.
A divided Wythe County Board of Supervisors has endorsed a Corrections Corporation of America plan to locate the prison - bringing with it a few hundred jobs - near Wytheville.
But the protesters wanted to make sure state officials understand that public sentiment back in Wythe County is running against the prison.
"We want to get the Motorolas and the IBMs,'' said Andy Kegley, 36, a former member of the Board of Supervisors and part of the early-morning gathering.
``We don't feel like a prison is part of our vision of the future.''
A Department of Corrections spokesman said officials were working to select two finalists for the medium-security contract, which is expected to be awarded by early October.
by CNB