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| Correctional closing bumped up |
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| News - Miami County News | |||
| Written by Kevin Gray | |||
| Wednesday, 28 January 2009 08:00 | |||
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In a surprise change of plans by the Kansas State Department of Corrections, the Osawatomie State Hospital Correctional Facility (OCF) will close Feb. 6, instead of the original April 1 target date. Greg Valentine, state hospital superintendent, said he was taken totally by surprise. “I thought we had until sometime in April, and then over the weekend I hear about the changed date,” he said. State Sen. Pat Apple, Rep. Bill Feuerborn and Rep. Jene Vickrey expressed the same surprise and displeasure in the sudden date. Vickrey, a Louisburg Republican, said he was frustrated. “This doesn’t give us an opportunity to battle and get the proper information about the correctional unit to our colleagues in the Legislature. All this move-up date does is hamper our legislative efforts,” Vickrey said. Feuerborn said a meeting has been scheduled with Secretary of Corrections Roger Werholtz on Thursday. As with Vickrey and Apple, Feuerborn wants to know where the savings is by closing the facility. “There is a budget of $926,000, and their proposed savings is $907,000. If they transfer the inmates and staff to Lansing, where is the savings? The staff and inmates will still cost money,” he said. The Lansing Correctional Facility actually oversees the Osawatomie unit, but as Feuerborn put it, Lansing will get the benefit, but the inmates may only be limited to prison jobs. “This is a good program that has worked well,” he said. “It also may save the correctional budget, but it will end up raising that of Wildlife and Parks, because they will no longer have inmate help. So much work at Hillsdale Lake is done by OCF workers.” Senator Apple talked to Werholtz on Friday, he said, and expressed his displeasure at the way this closing has been handled. “Osawatomie has gone through the Flood of 2007 that was devastating and then this. The hospital had been working at capacity or beyond, and the hospital and town were hopeful that a new section would be added. The new 30-unit was not to be, and then the state hits them with this. “The hospital will have to add five new full-time employees to make up for the lost labor. It’s like the state couldn’t do enough for Greensburg, and Osawatomie had a natural disaster, too, yet no help has been sent to this side of the state,” Apple said. Osawatomie City Manager Bret Glendening said it doesn’t make sense to rob Peter to pay Paul. “If they need to save money, they should look at individual line items across the state in every budget, instead of hitting two to three places,” he said. “When will the state do what’s best for the cities and towns, rather than for themselves?” Vickrey hopes the state will mothball the facility. “That way it could return. Hopefully, this would be our goal. And, if we turn their decision around, then the buildings would still be here and ready to use,” he said.
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