The decision to shut the William S. Key Correctional Center in Fort Supply does not sit well with Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson or area Representative Casey Murdock. During Tuesday’s hearing on the Department of Corrections’ decision to close the northwest Oklahoma prison, Thompson expressed concern to panelists about lack of communication with the Legislature. Cabinet Secretary of Public Safety Tricia Everest, Deputy Secretary Jason Nelson, Department of Corrections Director Scott Crow and DOC Chief Financial Officer Ashlee Clemmons made up the panel.
“I think one of the things that we heard today was that Secretary Everest and others acknowledged that this was handled wrongly, that the chain of communication could have been a lot better, not only with the Legislature but with area leaders. I was hoping to learn more about the financial savings. As appropriations chair, if we’re closing down a facility, in my mind we’ve got to be saving more than just the $1.3 million to $1.5 million for upkeep on the grounds—there has to be a savings somewhere else,” said Thompson.
He added that the impact will go beyond the prison grounds.
“There’s more we need to examine, including the impact on other areas, including health care and historical preservation. We’re concerned about the hospital in Buffalo where inmates are taken care of. I understand when the prison in Sayre was closed, the hospital closed shortly thereafter. We’re coming out of a pandemic, and I’m very much concerned about health care. So now we’ll start drilling down on the fiscal impact. We need to know where the dollars come from and where they go, but we also need to make sure we serve the needs of the people of Oklahoma, and right now northwestern Oklahoma seems to be hurting because of this decision made by the Department of Corrections,” Thompson said.
Murdock agrees with Thompson.
“The ripple effects that will happen in northwest Oklahoma will be long-lasting. It’s a loss of over 140 jobs, and Fort Supply and Woodward County will be hurt economically. People were already struggling to survive because of downturns in the oil industry. This will compound that.
“I think this decision was hastily done—they may have been looking at it, but I don’t think they considered how devastating this is going to be for the community and for the entire area,” said Murdock.
