THEN:

Prison slated for closure

October 13, 2002 11:00 pm

By JAYSON JACOBY
Of the Baker City Herald
Baker City’s minimum-security prison could close next spring.
The Powder River Correctional Facility, which houses 178 inmates and employs 70 workers, was added Friday to a list of state prisons that might be shut down next spring to balance the state’s budget, Powder River Superintendent Dan Johnson said.
…Powder River’s only likely savior is the proposed state income tax increase that voters will decide on in January. But even if voters approve that measure there’s no guarantee Powder River would be spared, Johnson said.
If voters reject the tax hike, Powder River probably would close, he said.

NOW: 

AP-OR–BudgetCuts     06-09 0216 ^AP-OR–Budget Cuts,0118< ^Budget cuts: Ore. proposes closing 3 prisons< ^Eds: APNewsNow. Will be led.< ^By TIM FOUGHT= ^Associated Press Writer=

     PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ Oregon officials propose closing three prisons, releasing nearly 1,000 inmates and cutting 232 jobs as part of the budget-cutting planned by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

     The three are the Mill Creek work camp and the Santiam Correctional Institution in Salem, and the Powder River Correction Facility in Baker City, according to budget documents released Wednesday by the governor’s office.

     They are among the smaller prisons in Oregon’s system of 14 correctional facilities. All are minimum-security facilities.

     With revenue falling short of expectations, Kulongoski has ordered agencies to come up with 9 percent across-the-board cuts.

     Kulongoski said he would announce a final cut list by the end of the month.

     (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

     AP-NY-06-09-10 1343EDT<