The Michigan Department of Corrections will close the Ojibway Correctional Facility in Michigan's Upper Peninsula by the end of the year.
The Gogebic County facility is slated to close on December 1, according to a press release from MDOC.
The move comes as the prisoner population continues to decline statewide. MDOC says Michigan's prison population declined more than 10 percent in the last three years.
Tuesday morning, Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington announced that she will close the Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marenisco in Gogebic County on December 1. In response, State Rep. Scott Dianda (D-Calumet) issued the following statement:
“This is bad news for the more than 200 employees who support their families thanks to the good jobs that Ojibway Correctional Facility provides for people across the Western U.P. Some of these workers drive from surrounding towns and counties, but now the closest facility they might be able to transfer to would be more than 100 miles away. That’s a tough option for a family up here particularly in the winter months.”
Ojibway's 203 employees were notified of the plans to close on Tuesday, said MDOC. The department will attempt to absorb as many of the staff into MDOC vacancies as possible. They are currently looking to fill 700 corrections officers' positions.
“I voted against the recent state budget because it included a prison closing," State Rep. Scott Dianda said. "Our U.P. communities can’t afford to lose any jobs, and losing more than 200 jobs is going to be devastating for families and our small U.P. towns. This decision puts the state’s bottom line before community safety and working families, and that is appalling. Gov. Rick Snyder and the state Unemployment Insurance Agency need to immediately begin work with these workers, Marenisco Township officials and Gogebic County officials on job placement services and economic development opportunities. These folks put their lives on the line at work every day to keep the rest of us safe. Republicans who think saving a buck is more important than keeping communities safe and helping working families get by need to do whatever it takes to help these folks find good jobs.”
It will be the second prison to close in 2018, following the closure of the West Shoreline Correctional Facility in Muskegon in March.
