JJT
04-17-2004, 02:37 PM
KATU 2 News - Portland, Oregon
Construction moves forward on Lakeview prison
April 1, 2004
- KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Construction on a new prison near Lakeview is moving forward, despite the threat of pending legal action from a longtime opponent of the project.
The Western Prison Project, a group that has opposed the Warner Creek Correctional Facility for several years, recently announced it will seek a temporary injunction halting construction unless the U.S. Department of Justice conducts a comprehensive environmental assessment of the prison. If the demand is not met by mid-April, the group plans to file its injunction.
Brigette Sarabi, executive director of the Western Prison Project, has said effects on wetlands and wildlife and the prison's location on an earthquake fault raise concerns.
Perrin Damon, a spokeswoman for the corrections department, said the department was in the process of analyzing the possibility of a lawsuit.
But in the meantime, a $16.3 million contract to complete the prison was awarded earlier this month to Hoffman Construction of Portland.
"We are purposefully kept out of that (lawsuit) loop," said Kirk Yancey, project manager for the $27 million, 400-bed men's minimum security prison. "We are going forward with our project as scheduled."
More than $6 million has already been spent on the prison's infrastructure, but construction was stopped in late 2002 because of Oregon's budget crisis.
"We're just going to go to work," said Yancey, who predicts construction will begin in early April. "We hope to have all the buildings ready to do inside work by late summer or early fall."
Under current timetables, the facility could be open for inmates by September 2005. Radtke said the prison will employ 132 people and generate an annual payroll of about $7 million. (Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Construction moves forward on Lakeview prison
April 1, 2004
- KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Construction on a new prison near Lakeview is moving forward, despite the threat of pending legal action from a longtime opponent of the project.
The Western Prison Project, a group that has opposed the Warner Creek Correctional Facility for several years, recently announced it will seek a temporary injunction halting construction unless the U.S. Department of Justice conducts a comprehensive environmental assessment of the prison. If the demand is not met by mid-April, the group plans to file its injunction.
Brigette Sarabi, executive director of the Western Prison Project, has said effects on wetlands and wildlife and the prison's location on an earthquake fault raise concerns.
Perrin Damon, a spokeswoman for the corrections department, said the department was in the process of analyzing the possibility of a lawsuit.
But in the meantime, a $16.3 million contract to complete the prison was awarded earlier this month to Hoffman Construction of Portland.
"We are purposefully kept out of that (lawsuit) loop," said Kirk Yancey, project manager for the $27 million, 400-bed men's minimum security prison. "We are going forward with our project as scheduled."
More than $6 million has already been spent on the prison's infrastructure, but construction was stopped in late 2002 because of Oregon's budget crisis.
"We're just going to go to work," said Yancey, who predicts construction will begin in early April. "We hope to have all the buildings ready to do inside work by late summer or early fall."
Under current timetables, the facility could be open for inmates by September 2005. Radtke said the prison will employ 132 people and generate an annual payroll of about $7 million. (Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)