CARNAHAN REMINDED OF PANEL'S PRISON VOTE

Five members of the Joint Committee on Corrections have reminded Gov. Mel Carnahan that the proposed state prison site at Charleston was the top choice of the committee.

The reminder came in a letter to the governor Wednesday. The letter stated that the Charleston site was the top choice at a meeting of the 12-member committee earlier this summer.

"The community of Charleston received nine votes while Licking and Trenton received seven votes each," the lawmakers said.

"Diversity of the work force is one of the reasons Charleston received more votes than the other two sites," they said.

Charleston has a large minority population.

The letter was signed by state Sens. William L. Clay Jr., D-St. Louis, and Larry Rohrbach, R-California; and Reps. Jim Graham, R-Fredericktown, Gary Marble, R-Neosho, and O.L. Shelton, D-St. Louis.

The lawmakers said their letter was a follow-up to one sent to the governor on Sept. 11 by committee Chairman Danny Staples, D-Eminence.

"His letter stated that Charleston, Licking and Trenton were the choices of the committee for two new prison sites. However, perhaps inadvertently his letter failed to let you know the committee's vote tally for each site even though the committee agreed to do so," the lawmakers wrote.

Graham said Thursday that the lawmakers weren't providing new information to Carnahan.

He said staff members from the governor's office attended the committee's meetings.

"He knows how the votes went," said Graham.

State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, welcomed the letter. "Charleston is very much alive," he said.

Charleston and the other two cities are competing for the two 1,500-bed prisons. The state plans to spend $146 million to construct the prisons.

Carnahan has asked the Department of Corrections to take another detailed look at all three sites.