There’s a new wrinkle in a plan to build a federal prison in Letcher County.
Last fall, following years of lobbying and planning, Congressman Hal Rogers announced that the Federal Bureau of Prisons had approved construction of a medium-security prison
facility and camp in Roxana.
But this week the Mountain Eagle reports a group of activists opposed to the prison has bought the rights to 63 acres of the land and is planning to use it to restore the bison population, promising to create jobs for people to help manage the land.
There was no confirmation from the Federal Bureau of Prisons as to whether there was still recourse to stop that sale.
In a statement, Congressman Rogers says it is a “small contingency of individuals who have been against the proposed Letcher County federal prison from day one”.
In addition, the paper reports there is some concern that in his previous term the President was against spending the $500 million on the project, although it’s too soon to say if that would remain the case.