PRISONS ARE ECONOMIC PRIZES FOR COMMUNITIES

Three communities in Southeast Missouri were among the seven finalists for a major new prison who made their last presentations yesterday to the Joint Committee on Correctional Institutions and Problems in Jefferson City. Soon the committee will narrow the options to two towns, and Gov. Mel Carnahan will have the task of making the final decision.

It is a big decision. The 1,500-inmate maximum security prison will cost $73 million and take two years to build. It will provide 400 jobs. And it will have an annual payroll of more than $9 million. It is easy to see why prisons have become one of the top economic-development prizes in Missouri.

Not too many years ago, prisons weren't so widely sought. Many communities fought efforts to locate prisons within their borders, and the fights over prisons frequently left scars that remain to this day.

But the plain fact is that prisons are a growth industry in most states, and Missouri has been particularly aggressive in building prisons to meet the needs of stiffer mandatory sentences that have been credited, at least in part, for stemming the tide of violent crime.

Opposition to prison construction tends to evaporate when communities need more jobs and steady payrolls. Moreover, modern prisons are a far cry from the raw institutions portrayed in the gangster movies of decades gone by. Many towns in Missouri that have welcomed new prisons have seen economic benefits that might never have occurred, if those communities had pursued other industries to provide new jobs.

The three towns in Southeast Missouri that are among the finalists -- Charleston, Malden and Kennett -- can each cite good reasons for putting a prison there. In addition to the obvious construction jobs and future prison employment, the Southeast Missouri towns also can boast willing workers and the fact that this area sends a large number of new inmates into the prison system each year.

All of the towns vying for the new prison have received high marks already. Choosing the two finalists -- and, ultimately, making the final choice -- will be difficult. Each of the finalists from Southeast Missouri put their best foot forward during their presentations yesterday. Now it is a matter of waiting to see which two will be recommended to the governor.