The south coast was dealt another blow after a team of representatives from the south coast met with the Governor regarding the closure of Shutter Creek Correctional Institution. In a letter to Representative Boomer Wright, the Governor confirmed the prison closure early next year. Wright says a meeting with Governor Kate Brown didn’t persuade her to keep the minimum-security prison facility open. Wright said this morning the Governor is relying heavily on Measure 110 to reduce the number of prison beds needed in the state. He countered saying that’s putting the cart before the horse to see how the provisions in the measure will impact the numbers of prisoners incarcerated.
On July 7th Coos County Commissioners, medical professionals, school officials, mayors, and city managers from Lakeside and Reedsport, Senator Dick Anderson, and others met to discuss the closure’s ramifications. Wright says south coast representatives will now have to determine how to deal with job losses and the economic effects from the closure. The Governor pledged to have her team continue to engage south coast stakeholders with alternatives to boost the local economy.
Shutter Creek Correctional Institution is a 302-bed facility located north of the Bay Area in Hauser. It had nearly 100 employees before the announcement of the closure was made last year. Some have been relocated to other state corrections facilities.