Save the Hamilton prison

We cannot afford to lose jobs in Marion County. That may sound like a rather obvious statement that could apply to any city or county on the planet, but it’s one that we at the Journal Record feel needs to be said after the news that Gov. Kay Ivey plans to close Hamilton’s Aged and Infirmed facility within the next few years.
Ivey’s plan to reform prisons in Alabama involves the closing of four prisons in the state, including our own in Hamilton.
Jobs lost is always going to be a negative and it is always something we should try to avoid if we can.
State Rep. Tracy Estes, R-Winfield, will propose a plan to Ivey to save the jobs at Hamilton A and I by making the facility a state intake facility.
This would not only save the jobs currently at the A and I facility, but it would take the pressure off of--not only our own--but many jail facilities in North Alabama.
State inmates being housed in local facilities that are not in good shape puts unnecessary burden on our Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams and county employees. With Estes’ plan, we can not only take the burden off of Sheriff Williams when it comes to state inmates, but we can also take a similar burden off of our fellow sheriffs in counties around our area of the state.
This plan seems to be a good one to get behind--which we are--and we hope that those in the state Legislature feel the same.