Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders announced on Thursday afternoon that the state had purchased land in Franklin County to build a new prison. The 815-acre property was purchased in Charleston Thursday for $2.950 million.
“I promised the people of Arkansas we would address our state’s prison bed shortage and today, I’m announcing the first major investment in our state’s prison capacity since my dad was governor,” Sanders said. “This new facility will help end our failed system of catch-and-early-release and protect our communities by keeping violent offenders off our streets. For Charleston, Franklin County, and the River Valley, it will offer hundreds of permanent, recession-proof jobs and millions of dollars in investment.”
Sanders boasted that the prison will bring 800 jobs to the area with an average salary of $46,000.
Sanders failed to disclose the number of beds the planned prison will have. Additionally, the total cost of the construction of the facility was not known.
“A new prison providing significant additional prison capacity for the State is critical for the implementation of the Protect Act, which will make all Arkansans safer,” stated Attorney General Tim Griffin. “Our county jails are filled with felons who should be in state prisons. This means we can’t jail those who commit misdemeanors, and the misdemeanor offenders know it. I appreciate the leadership of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the General Assembly in prioritizing the safety of Arkansans. Without more prison space the Protect Act is made inconsequential. Today, thanks to the Governor and legislators, Arkansas took a giant step toward safer streets and more peaceful communities.”
The purchase and plans came as a shock to area residents, local and state officials. District 26 Senator Gary Stubblefield was said to have been unaware of the plans up until the announcement was made. “As of press time, Stubblefield had yet to make a statement regarding the governor’s announcement. “This wasn’t done right,” shared Stubblefield. “We are the most important branch of state government because we bring it to the people…that failed to happen here…” Stubblefield noted in an interview on Friday that although he serves on the subcommittee that oversees the penal system, he was never notified.
Franklin County Judge Rickey Bowman issued a statement on Thursday evening, announcing a town hall meeting at the Charleston High School auditorium on Thursday, November 7 at 6 p.m.
“I have been in contact with the Governor’s office multiple times today. I was able to get them to schedule a town hall meeting in Charleston next week. This individual should be able to address any questions and concerns. I’m looking forward to obtaining more information on the State Penitentiary myself. I hope this will give our concerned citizens a platform to be heard.”
Charleston Mayor Mike Baumgartner also issued a statement: “I want to personally address the recent announcement regarding the construction of a state prison 7.5 miles north of Charleston. The only information I was provided was that it will be a 3,000-bed facility and employ 800 people, with an average salary of nearly $50,000 per year. Just like all of you, I was taken by surprise, and I share your concerns regarding safety, and the impact this will have on our community…As your mayor, I’m committed to gathering the facts and ensuring the most positive outcome possible for our town. I’ll be working closely with state and local officials to stay up to date and advocate for our needs and priorities. I assure you I am committed to pushing for measures that prioritize community safety and the preservation of the high quality of life we are accustomed to here in Charleston.”
Sander’s announcement was met by mixed reaction from area residents, many opposing the idea. “This is generational land, and these residents live in a secluded area because they want it that way,” shared Charleston resident Ronni Tate Young. “They didn’t give anyone a choice, and no one was given any information.”
Lifelong resident and vested community member, Shannon Sosebee McChristian submitted the following letter to the governor’s office:
Dear Governor Sanders,
You will probably never read this or know who I am…regardless of the reassurance your office gives that you read and listen to your citizens- and yet today you turned the lives upside down of so many lives of people you have never even met.
The prison you announced will be a platform you no doubt will shout loudly from- jobs, money, booming economy- I can only imagine the dreams and promises that have been fed to you by your advisors. Important people in your life.
Let me take just one minute of your valuable time to tell you about the important people in MY life- my parents- they have worked for sixty plus years- blood, sweat and tears- sacrificing things that you probably take for granted every day- to leave our family a legacy on Millcreek Mountain. A legacy you reduced to ashes in one day. Not only will our property values be nothing now, but more importantly, our lifelong sanctuary is gone. It brings tears to my eyes just writing those words.
My Dad is 82 years old. He’s spent his life quietly. I’m sure you’ve never heard his name. Raising a family, working in all kinds of weather, attending church faithfully, contributing to the community around him, and supporting the political party YOU represent. All the while he worked daylight to dark to slowly add small parcels, one at a time, of land until he’s finally built a good-sized spread. We’ve heard all our lives about the value of it. We’ve been raised to respect it.
Four generations of my family live on Millcreek Mountain. We eat the food we grow. We leave the land better than we found it. It’s a living thing. A thing we love. My parents, my brother, my kids, my grandchildren. Yesterday, it was all our dream. Our destiny. Our inheritance. A beautiful sanctuary. A place of safety and security for our grandchildren. The place we gather to love each other. Today you took that away, with a simple and quick political and financial decision.
We aren’t politicians. But we’ve served in the military, served in public offices, owned businesses, worked, prayed, rejoiced and suffered- all on Millcreek Mountain. Just simple hardworking people building something together. One thing our family hasn’t had the need for is a prison. But looks like one is about to become the center of our lives. No matter what we want or need.
That is what you took from us. Our dream. Our goals. My Dad’s lifelong work. Our Home. And we never even had a voice in the decision. Is this still America?
I wish I could have walked the land with you, or maybe ridden it on horseback, talked to you woman to woman, told you about growing up there. I wish I could have heard your side of the story. I wish we could have discussed the pros and cons. Shouldn’t that be the way it works when we are the people most affected? I wish you could have met my dad. He is something special. He doesn’t deserve this. Do you have parents? A home? Grandchildren? Maybe you can put yourself in my shoes for just one moment of your busy day.
We haven’t slept. We haven’t eaten. We are literally sick. And helpless in the face of a decision from someone we never even knew and yet, somehow, trusted. We have been betrayed in the biggest way I’ve ever imagined in my fifty-five years here on earth.
I personally know of so many properties that are truly remote. Some already state owned. Properties that would be so much more appropriate and not next to people’s homes. You didn’t do your homework. Now you will live with that every day. I hope you think about us me when you lay down at night, when you gather during the holidays with your family, when you are alone. Because I’m not going away.
I know the need for prisons. I know the issues you face. But it could have been done in such a different way. I’m afraid you have created thousands of enemies here without even knowing what you have done. You should have asked us. You should have used your manners. You should have done it the country way. You should have understood. This is our home. Our community is a sacred place. Invaded. Of course we want to fight. We weren’t given a chance.
You will hide behind the money, the job, the advisors, the self-importance. And I am just an unimportant stranger that you will never have to bother with. You are too isolated to have to talk to real people these days. You get to skip the hard parts.
But still, I wanted you to know that you destroyed real people today. A real family who believed in God, Country, Family and yes, even still to a certain degree, our government.
My grandchildren will now grow up surrounded by prison land. They won’t get to build forts in the woods, camp on the mountain or be turned loose all day to daydream on a horse. Don’t be mistaken. Don’t be convinced otherwise by your advisors. Because THAT is what you took from us.
I listened to you today saying you were protecting us by keeping criminals off the street. The irony is that we haven’t had many criminals around. Now we certainly will. Right next door.
It’s all gone. But I am not. And I will voice this until I am dead.
I will pray for your soul as I work on the bitterness in my own.
And I am including a photo or our family on Millcreek Mountain.
Real live hurting people with no answers, no hope, and no help from the people we elected and trusted.
Sincerely,
Shannon Sosebee McChristian
A petition of those citizens against the planned state prison has been set up at change.org. No further plans have been released about a timeline for the project, however the Board of Corrections must approve the plan before construction can begin.
RNN will be in attendance at next week’s meeting and bring you further details regarding this developing story.
