PRISON WOULD BOOST CHARLESTON EMPLOYMENT, SAY CITY'S JOBLESS

CHARLESTON -- Sheila Randle needs a job.

Randle is black and a single mother in a city of about 5,000, where unemployment runs high.

The city of Charleston hopes to land a new state prison.

The 1,500-inmate prison would provide nearly 400 jobs, with an annual payroll of $9.1 million.

For Randle and others who are unemployed, the prison offers an opportunity for good-paying jobs and a chance to move up the economic ladder. "I am praying for this prison," said Randle.

A legislative committee could make a final recommendation to Gov. Mel Carnahan next week on where to build two maximum security prisons. A final decision rests with the governor.

The state plans to spend $146 million to build the two prisons, which could be in operation within three years.

The cities of Charleston, Trenton and Licking are competing for the prisons. Licking is in south-central Missouri and Trenton in the north-central part of the state.

The legislative committee chose Charleston as its top site in July, but deadlocked over whether to recommend Licking or Trenton as the second site.

Randle isn't interested in politics. What she wants is a job so she can support her 2-year-old daughter, Valerie.

Randle grew up in public housing in Charleston and went to college for two years. She said it has been almost three years since she has had a weekly pay check.

She lives in an apartment and survives entirely on child-support money. She said a prison job could help her move up to a better life. She would like to go back to college.

"This town really needs an economic boost. There are no jobs here," she said.

Unemployment in Charleston is about 9 percent, but has run as high as 12 percent.

"Right now it should be about 9 percent because a lot of people work in the tobacco fields," said Gail Pang, administrative assistant with the Mississippi County Industrial Development Authority.

But in the black community unemployment is extremely high. About 35 percent of black women in the Mississippi County city are unemployed; for black men, the unemployment rate is about 22 to 23 percent, Pang said.

She estimated that at least 35 percent of Mississippi County residents receive public assistance. "The county is poor," she said.

Steve Betts is the pastor and elder of Charleston's Opportunity Church of God in Christ. Betts said a prison isn't his first choice for economic expansion. Still, he views it as currently the best bet for jobs.

"If that is the only thing that can help us, we will settle for it," said Betts, who lives in Charleston.

But like many blacks, he has gone elsewhere for work. He is a guidance counselor at Cairo (Ill.) High School.

"The town is hurting, no doubt about it," he said.

The city has crime problems, including those that revolve around illegal drugs, he said.

Betts said the city's poor include the largely black population in public housing. The city has about 300 public housing units.

Charles Ivy, the church's associate minister, said there are few good-paying jobs in the town.

Charleston is largely a farming community. But farm machinery has replaced human labor in many cases, putting blacks out of work, Ivy said.

Church member Annie Williams works as a school cook and cashier. But she said she might apply for a prison job if the pay is better.

Prisons have been an economic boost for rural towns in Missouri, said Shellby Hendee, development director for the city of Cameron.

That is why the city of Charleston has offered 120 acres of farm land and offered to extend water and sewer lines at no charge. New electric power connections also would be provided. A community college has agreed to train workers for the prison.

To sweeten its deal, the city of 5,085 residents has offered at no cost to the state extensions of water and sewer lines, new electric power connections and an arrangement with a nearby community college for prison employee training.

Hendee understands why cities offer such incentives. He did a study in 1996 that documented the benefits of prisons.

Cameron has two state prisons. The first one opened in 1988 and the second last March. Combined, they employ about 1,100 people.

The town northeast of Kansas City has seen its population grow from 5,000 to just under 7,000 in the last seven years, Hendee said.

The economic boost from the prison included 40 new businesses, headed by a Wal-Mart Supercenter with 225 jobs.

Hundreds of new homes have been built, Hendee said.

The prison in Potosi opened in 1989. City officials there credit it with bringing in other business, such as a 300-job shoe plant and a new industrial park, Hendee said.

Prisons, he said, should be viewed like any other large industry.

Initial fears about escapes, increased crime, devalued property and schools jammed with inmates' children have proved unfounded, Hendee said.

Cameron has experienced only two prison escapes since 1988. Both inmates were recaptured, he said.

But Sheila Randle isn't interested in the statistics of past economic success. She just hopes her future includes a prison job.