THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, November 13, 1994              TAG: 9411110013
SECTION: COMMENTARY               PAGE: J4   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Editorial 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   47 lines

PRISON AS INDUSTRY JOBS FOR NORTHAMPTON

In a county where the median annual income is $12,000 and where up to 10 percent of the work force is unemployed at certain times of the year, the prospect of year-round jobs starting at more than $17,000 is welcome news.

The drawback for Northampton County, on the Eastern Shore, is that the jobs are attached to a maximum-security prison that would house 1,267 of Virginia's most dangerous people. But considering that escapes are rare in properly designed, properly run prisons and that the prison would never be seen by most Eastern Shore residents and travelers, its potential benefits far exceed potential problems.

While the governor sees the prison as a vital component of his crime-fighting program, Northampton should view it as a badly needed industry. Construction would cost $76 million. The prison would employ 425 people and have an annual operating budget of $18 million. Supplies and services also would aid the local economy.

Those figures are no small potatoes in a county where agriculture and commercial fishery - both susceptible to nature - are among few local options beside Northampton-Accomack Memorial Hospital in Nassawadox, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, Bayshore Concrete Products Corp. in Cape Charles, local government (including schools) and a shopping center at Exmore.

Tourism is a growing industry, but that also is seasonal. While county officials are trying to push economic benefits of tourism, Northampton residents last week rejected a meals tax that, based on last year's sales, would add about $327,000 to county coffers.

The Shore's placement, a rural oasis between urban Hampton Roads and Salisbury, Md., also figures in its problems. Luring diverse industry is difficult for such areas. That only argues for welcoming the prison, provided the proposed site near Cape Charles is purchased, the General Assembly provides funds and Northampton County finds its overall impact positive - as seem likely.

Virginians have made crime prevention and punishment a high priority. Northampton County can ill afford to reject this ``industry'' that would separate criminals from the rest of us and help so many county residents lift their standard of living. by CNB