CAPRON
The walls of the old Southampton Correctional Center in Capron will soon come down.
The prison, built in the mid-1930s in this tiny Southampton County town, closed last week. About 650 inmates were absorbed into other facilities across Virginia, said Larry Traylor, director of communications for the Department of Corrections.
Of the 231 employees who lost their jobs in the closure, about 195 have been placed in other positions, Traylor said. The prison long has been an important part of the community's economy.
Soon, inmate laborers will begin stripping the old building and then demolish it.
"It is the intent of the agency to build a new prison on this site in the future, when the prison population increases sufficiently to warrant an additional prison," Traylor said.
He couldn't say when that would be. There are now about 32,500 prisoners in the state. Of those, only the over-55 population appears to be growing. One facility at the Southampton site - Deerfield - houses that segment of the prison population, and Deerfield has recently been expanded to house more prisoners.
The Department of Corrections plans to "maintain its agribusiness activities at this site with inmates from other facilities in the Southampton complex," Traylor said.
Linda McNatt, (757) 222-5561, linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com
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Only Over 55 population growing?
That's kind of good news; our youngsters are learning. The more "mature" seem not to be so mature. Perhaps we should build a secured nursing home for future prisoners. Let's start with populating it with CEOs and politicians who abuse the use of public funds and public trust.