By Julie Bisbee
The Oklahoman
STROUD, Okla. — Former state trooper Ira Ackerman moved to this sleepy community to get away from the criminal element of urban areas.
Now it seems to him that building a prison in the town of Stroud would bring prisoners to his back door.
Ackerman was one of many Stroud residents who crammed into the city’s senior center to hear a presentation from the Geo Group Inc., a Florida-based company that wants to build a 1,000- to 1,500-bed prison in the area.
Nearly 200 people crowded into the room for a town hall meeting. Officials from the company explained how a prison would benefit the community and how its design made it nearly impossible for inmates to escape.
Initially, city officials had said the prison would house elderly or inmates in poor health, but representatives from GEO Group on Thursday said that wasn’t the plan.
“This will be a male medium-security prison,” said Wayne Calabrese, vice chairman and president of the company.
Former University of Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer also addressed the crowd, asking for their support. Switzer is a paid consultant for the prison group.
But many in this town of about 2,800 can’t agree on whether the 300 jobs and $12 million in annual payroll company officials promise is what Stroud needs to become economically viable.
Many vocal against plan
After GEO representatives spoke for nearly 90 minutes, public comment was allowed. Many expressed frustration.
“This isn’t why we chose to move to Stroud,” one woman said. “We moved here because this is a safe community and good place to raise your kids. If there is a prison here, I don’t think that will be the case.”
Others were upset the option of putting a prison in Stroud was not presented to the public earlier.
“I feel like they’ve just left me out of it,” said Lana Bond, a Stroud resident. “We don’t have a voice in all this. I don’t think that’s right.”
Her husband, Howard, a retired teacher and former education counselor at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing, agreed.
City officials and GEO have been in talks for nearly a year, but it’s only been in the past few weeks it has become a public issue as city officials searched for property.
Earlier this month, city officials and GEO proposed putting a prison at the Stroud industrial park, about a mile from a school. Under state law, the school board has to grant a waiver for a prison to be built within a mile. On Tuesday, city officials withdrew their request.
Already citizens have put together a petition to stop the city from putting a prison in the city limits without voter approval. Citizens have 90 days to get the petition signed.
‘We can’t live in fear’
Citizens opposed to building a prison in Stroud were vocal, but many residents were in favor of the proposal.
Don Miller, who owns Miller Truck Lines in Stroud, was one. He said something needed to be done to bring an economic future to the town.
“We’ve had nothing in this town since an F5 (tornado) came down the turnpike and wiped it out,” Miller said. “How are we going to fix this town? This is good for Stroud.
“They can build across the street from me, and I’d still leave my doors unlocked. We can’t live in fear.”
Copyright 2008 The Oklahoman