THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 23, 1994 TAG: 9411230441
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B01 EDITION: VIRGINIA
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CAPE CHARLES LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Plunk a 1,267-inmate maximum-security prison in some folks' back yard and watch them wake up.
It's happening in Northampton County. The state Department of Corrections has been talking for at least 18 months about locating a prison here. But most residents have done little more than wonder what plot of land it would occupy.
Now that the state has an option to buy 108 acres outside Cape Charles, tough questions are at hand:
What impact will a prison have on local schools? Will inmates with AIDS swamp the hospital?
How will the prison affect the landfill, social services, court system and roads? How much water will it use in a county with limited freshwater resources? And will tourists - the backbone of Northampton's planned economic future - avoid a prison community?
Last week, county leaders posed some of those questions to John W. McCluskey, chief deputy director of the Department of Corrections.
``We want to know if the state is willing to work with us to meet some of our goals,'' said Tom Harris, county administrator. ``We asked, and the answer was: `Yes, we want to be good neighbors.' ''
The impact of the prison is uncertain. McCluskey agreed to come back to Northampton with more detailed information. But each prison community is different, he said, and what happened in Mecklenburg County or Culpeper wouldn't necessarily occur on the Eastern Shore.
``You can't draw absolute statements about these facilities,'' McCluskey said of predicting the prison's effects.
On Friday, a team of experts from the Department of Corrections took a close look at the Cape Charles water and sewerage plants to see whether the prison can plug into the existing system. Hossein Eshaghi, environmental engineer for the project, said it would be ``safe to plan about 250,000 gallons of water per day'' for the 704-cell prison, although it probably would use less.
In an interview, McCluskey said most inmates would be treated in a prison clinic. But for life-threatening emergencies, the prison would need one or two rooms in the local hospital.
``We don't send hordes of inmates to local hospitals because it's too expensive for us,'' said McCluskey. Once stabilized, inmate patients are taken to medical facilities around the state that are owned or contracted by the Department of Corrections.
Security in Eastville's courthouse will probably need beefing up, he said. If inmates commit crimes, such as assaults on corrections officers - they will be charged, he said. Those cases will flow through the local court system, along with any civil suits that the prisoners may generate.
He couldn't estimate how many children of prison employees might be added to the county schools.
In recent years, Northampton County has consolidated five old elementary schools into two new ones. The schools have cut staff and increased class size. If students are added, the school system could become even more cramped.
What Tom Harris wants is more information, so the community can plan more clearly.
``What we're trying to do is see the reality of the situation,'' he said. ``There are no concrete numbers, but we can get good, educated guesses about the prison's impact. We're not the only community to get a prison.''
Harris wants the proposed facility to fit into the county's plan for sustainable development - a way to grow economically without destroying Northampton's natural resources.
``If it's going to be here,'' he said, ``we want it done in such a way that complements our plan.''
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA STATE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
PRISONS EASTERN SHORE
by CNB