THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412110082
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FAIRVIEW LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
Purple ribbons fastened to the pillars of John Green's store drooped in the rain Saturday, matching the mood of this Eastern Shore community.
Green is one of hundreds of residents opposing the state's plan to build a 1,267-inmate, maximum security prison down the street. The purple ribbons are symbolic of their protest.
Green and others believe the prison is being dumped into their mostly black neighborhood because it lacks the political clout to fight the facility. Green's children have told him they won't come back home if a prison is built there.He also fears for the safety of the area's many elderly residents if an inmate escapes.
And the promise of 425 jobs with full state benefits - the $13 million per year in salaries that prison officials say will pour into Northampton County - doesn't impress him.
``If I were a youth, I wouldn't want to work there,'' Green said. ``I'd rather pick tomatoes or dig potatoes.''
On Saturday, Citizens Opposed to the Prison staged Purple Ribbon Day to show local officials how many people object to the Department of Corrections' plan.
Along Route 13, the Eastern Shore's main thoroughfare, ribbons were tied to street signs and crepe myrtle trees. A small handful of businesses and homes in Cape Charles and Cheriton also sported purple.
``The purple ribbons are just a way for us to identify each other, so we won't be afraid to speak out,'' said Kim Starr, a local Realtor who helped organize the protest. ``We realize the real battle will be fought in the legal arena over environmental issues.''
John McCluskey, chief deputy director for the Department of Corrections, met with locals this week to explain the prison plan. He listened to opponents for more than three hours and attempted to answer some of their questions about the facility's possible impact.
``Considering the energy and emotion that was in that room, I thought we were very well-behaved,'' Starr said.
``McCluskey is a consummate salesman with that Alabama accent and his loosened tie. But I think he was sweating an awful lot up on that stage.''
McCluskey, for his part, worries that a small group of people is distorting the facts about prison impact.
There is no data to prove that corrections facilities put a strain on local services, he said. They don't depress property values. They won't deflect tourist dollars. And the state certainly won't damage the Eastern Shore's natural resources, he added.
``I've said it 14 times: If we don't pass environmental muster, we won't build on the site,'' McCluskey said.
``I am convinced, personally and professionally, that a prison in Northampton would be a good deal for the commonwealth and the county. There are no facts that say it's a bad deal. And I say that with full recognition that Northampton County is a fragile environment. We're not going to hurt Northampton County.''
John Green and his neighbors in Fairview just aren't sure. Fairview is a mixture of small, neat homes. Many people there worked a lifetime to own those homes, he said.
``We don't know what impact it will have in the neighborhood,'' Green said of the proposed prison. ``Right now, people are all disturbed. We may not have brick homes, but we've got what we have, and appreciate what we have.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI/Staff
Northampton County residents, from left, Dave Temens, Kim Starr,
Donald McIlvee and Ilse McIlvee protest a plan for a prison.
Photo
JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI/Staff
John Green has run a grocery store in Northampton County for the
past 28 years. The store is close to the site of a proposed
maximum-security prison. Green opposes the prison plan.
by CNB