Estes says he’s fighting to keep jobs

By LOUIS MELLINI
Staff Writer

HAMILTON - State Rep. Tracy Estes, R-Winfield, is currently fighting to keep jobs in Hamilton after Gov. Kay Ivey announced that the State of Alabama will be closing several prisons, including Hamilton’s Aged and Infirmed facility on Military Street.
In December of 2020, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Alabama for its prison conditions and Ivey announced plans to build-lease three new mega-prisons in Bibb, Elmore and Escambia counties, which are expected to house between 3,000-4,000 inmates each.
“I got through about a third of it (Ivey’s plan), because when I got to around page 10, I knew that I was not happy,” said Estes.