Friday, August 7, 1998
GRAFTON, Ohio -- Village officials asked a court Thursday to block construction of a state-owned -- but privately run -- prison, citing concerns about security and the impact on local utilities.
The village council in Grafton, about 20 miles southwest of Cleveland, had planned the legal move before six people escaped last month from a private prison in Youngstown.
But Council President Tom Smith said more people may pay attention to the village's complaints now.
"I'm sure people thought we were crazy a month or two ago," Mr. Smith said.
Andrea Dean, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, said state officials had not seen the lawsuit. But she said there will be a big difference between the Youngstown prison and Grafton. Guards in Grafton will have to undergo the same training as guards at state-run prisons, she said.
Six inmates from Washington escaped from the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center (NOCC) in Youngstown on July 25. Five have been recaptured, including four convicted killers. However, one inmate serving time for armed robbery, Ronald Holmes, remained at large Thursday.
The NOCC, where two inmates have been fatally stabbed in the past year, is Ohio's only private prison and houses inmates from out of state.
But Ohio is planning to allow to two new state prisons -- in Grafton and Conneaut -- to be operated by private companies. Grafton is supposed to house inmates convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol and to open in October 1999.
In a lawsuit filed in Lorain County Common Pleas Court, the village argued the new prison would overburden the village's sewage treatment plant and municipal electrical plant.
The village also said it would be responsible for providing extra police in the event of an emergency at the prison, a heavy burden in this community of 3,600 residents "when considered by the light of recent events," the suit said.
Mr. Smith said the council also has been worried about the safety of employees and inmates.
