Ojibway prison to close Dec. 1

MARENISCO - The Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marenisco Township will close Dec. 1, the Michigan Department of Corrections said Tuesday.

The facility has 203 employees and is one of the biggest employers in Gogebic County.

Gogebic County Board of Commissioners Chair George Peterson, of Watersmeet, said Tuesday the news came as quite a blow.

"It's devastating to our county to lose those jobs - 200 jobs plus the related service industry. It's going to trickle out to our school districts."

He said the county's economic scene is already not good.

"Seventy-two percent of our families in the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District are living in poverty, and we lose 200 more jobs; it's really going to be devastating. I don't know how we can make Lansing understand."

Peterson said the news came as a group of people from local government, business and Gogebic Community College were planning to travel to the state capital to lobby for the prison's survival. Camp Ojibway was on a short list of facilities from which the DOC was going to choose one to close.

"We were making plans to travel downstate, but they beat us to the punch. County board members and other members of a committee working on this were going. I believe they did this now, knowing we were coming," Peterson said.

As for the future, Peterson said, "We need to try and figure out how to get something for our people here; maybe its mining. There has to be something. I don't have an answer for it today, but we'll be working on it. We have to do something."

Erik Guenard, interim president and Dean of Business Services at GCC, said news of Ojibway's closure "is difficult to absorb.

"Gogebic Community College understands the impact of this closing on the region," he said.

Guenard said the college assembled the group of individuals who represent local municipalities and businesses to address and advocate for the continued operations of the prison.

"This committee has worked diligently with our state representatives for the past several months and is now looking for opportunities to support our region with the loss of 203 jobs in our communities.

"The representative committee and the college are committed to assisting the employees affected by the closing and find solutions for our area," he said. "The representative group will be working with state departments and legislators to find opportunities for investment and economic growth and development in the western Upper Peninsula in the next few months to stabilize our regional economy."

The group will also work with local and regional employers.

"We are currently working on a plan to present to our legislators and governor in the upcoming weeks for assistance to continue the positive momentum that we have seen over the past several years," he said.

Marenisco Township Supervisor Dick Bouvette said, "It's downright devastating. Other areas with more going on economically can take a hit, but I don't know how we can recover."

Bouvette estimated the township will lose 20 percent of its revenue, including more than half of its revenue sharing, which is based on the township's population that includes the prison's population.

He said he didn't know what this will mean for property values.

Bouvette also lamented the number of people who work at the prison who may now leave the area.

"There are no other comparable jobs here. People get used to making that kind of money. They might be able to get a job at minimum wage, but you've bought your house, bought your cars. The banks are expecting payments. This is going to hurt the community in many ways," he said.

Bouvette also mentioned the promise of mining, as Highland Copper plans to open a copper mining operation north of Wakefield in Ironwood Township.

"I'm hoping the mine can hire 250 people," he said.

More immediately, Bouvette sees a drop in business. "People aren't going to have the money to spend in our restaurants and taverns," he said.

The DOC previously announced it would close another prison this year to save $19 million in the next fiscal year. The state's prison population has been declining.

The DOC says there are no immediate plans for how the facility will be used.

The OCF was formerly Camp Ojibway, a minimum security facility, prior to expansion.

The maximum security facility presently has an administration building, a warehouse and store, and buildings for education, meals, training and housing of inmates.

The five housing units can accommodate up to 1,180 prisoners.

-Daily Globe Staff