BUCKING THE SYSTEM: POSITIVES WOULD ABOUND WITH NEW PRISON

It's nearly time for Gov. Mel Carnahan to name the sites of two new maximum-security prisons, and this is one native Charlestonian who hopes to see that town get the nod.

I've had a few rounds with myself on the subject of Charleston becoming the home of a maximum-security prison. I guess it makes sense that I'd have conflicting emotions when you consider this is my home town, and the place where I go to church and do my laundry each week.

At first, I was against the city pursuing the prison as its industrial savior. To me, having the prison there would change everything: Charleston just wouldn't be the same.

Then I realized that Charleston hasn't resembled the town I remember in a long time anyway, and maybe getting the prison built there could be a good thing.

Charleston has changed so much over the last 10 years that some people wouldn't even recognize it. Drugs have become big business back home, and crime has increased over the years in relation to that business. Much of the west end of town is a maze of one-way streets, and several of my former classmates are HIV-positive.

There have also been other changes. Johnnie's Drive In, the only hamburger joint I knew as a child, has been replaced by McDonald's. We've also got a hotel now (as opposed to an inn, motel or villa), and I've counted at least three different ATM machines.

Welcome to the '90s, Charleston.

These are good changes because they've helped the economy. Nobody wants to stop in a town that doesn't have 24-hour banking, even if that town can boast of having one of the largest fireworks emporiums in the nation. And even if I can't get a Johnnie's vintage milkshake or hamburger, at least I can take comfort in knowing chain restaurants and hotels mean more jobs and more local revenue.

Now we're up for a prison, and the ninth inning is looking good for the home team. But will a prison add to the positive industrial changes that the town has seen, or will it just bring more negatives to a town that already has plenty?

The prison's going to be good for Charleston. I know I'm right about this, even though I wish the money were going to more preventative rather than punitive measures. This prison is going to bring jobs, and in a town that has nearly 10 percent of its workforce unemployed, jobs are exactly what the doctor ordered.

People need to remember that not only will the prison bring $20,000-a-year guard jobs, it's also going to bring a lot of lesser-paying jobs. Somebody's got to cook the food, somebody's got to take out the trash. A whole range of jobs will be available, and if local officials do their jobs right, many of those jobs in each step of the range will go to local employees.

I've heard complaints that the unemployed force in Charleston is basically unemployable. If they are, that's because that's what they've been taught. If you train them, then they aren't unemployable anymore, now are they?

There's another point to consider. Those "unemployables" are probably receiving state and federal aid, and as we all know, the days of receiving income from those sources are now numbered. Here's an opportunity to take the welfare reform bull by the horns and get these people trained to earn an honest living.

I applaud the city's efforts to get Charleston named as one of the sites for a new prison. They're focusing on helping the city gain revenue and helping the people gain independence. I don't see anything wrong with that.

Now about that courthouse . . .

~Tamara Zellars Buck is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.