The ice, snow and rain that settled across Baldwin County this weekend may have kept activity throughout the community at a minimum, but the area will soon be abuzz on the southside of town following news this week of the green-lighting for a new private prison.
State officials announced intentions this week to award a contract to build a new private prison in Baldwin County to be located adjacent to Baldwin State Prison in South Milledgeville.
The state Department of Administrative Services awarded a contract to The GEO Group Inc., a private corrections and detention services provider to build the 1,000-bed medium security facility. It is slated to begin housing inmates sometime around July 2011 and initially employ 235 people full-time with potential for expansion in the future. In the meantime there is also the potential for ripple affects in this news by way of construction jobs and utilization of services for food distribution and laundry facilities through Central State Hospital as well as the possibility for an inmate medical treatment facility.
This is all much-needed welcomed news for Baldwin County, a shot of positive news in the wake of several closure announcements and others, such as Men’s and Bostick state prisons still hanging in the balance.
Reassuring news, certainly, following a lingering rough period but the local community mustn’t rest on its laurels in efforts to diversify the local jobs landscape to bring new, innovative ideas to the table to continue to re-build and expand economic development opportunities. It no doubt took a tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes work by local officials to come up with a creative incentives package to land this recent contract and it will take even further creativity to land more projects for additional jobs. It will also take continued cooperation among local leaders and Baldwin County’s state-level delegation. Incentives such as the expansion of Milledgeville’s Opportunity Zone tax credit program, which was instrumental in helping to land the new private prison. This recent news is a much-needed shot in the arm and a step in the right direction. Continued cooperation and momentum behind new and creative ideas to diversify and expand job options and opportunities can continue to propel Milledgeville and Baldwin County and get things back on track.
Opinion
New prison will be a boon to Baldwin County
- Opinion
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Look what republicans have done in Georgia
Ten years ago in the 2002 elections, the Republican Party in Georgia made history by claiming its first elected governor and control of both the state House and Senate.
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Remember our heroes this Memorial Day
Memorial Day is Monday, and for many of us this means a three-day weekend, the end of the school year and the unofficial beginning of summer.
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Click-it or Ticket program saves lives
More than 22,000 passengers were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2010, and 51 percent of them were not wearing seat belts at the time of their fatal crashes.
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Why can’t the commission figure out pool cost?
At the May 15 county commission meeting, the topic of the Baldwin County Swimming Pool again was on the agenda.
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Foster families play a vital role
May is National Foster Care Month, and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the Foster Parents of Baldwin County for the work they do caring for Georgia’s children and families.
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How would new pool be kept up?
After weeks of input from area residents, the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners came to a consensus on how to fill the community recreational void left with the closure of the public county pool Tuesday, agreeing to pursue options for a new pool and other new recreational amenities in another location.
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We all have a stake in GC president search
Georgia College will introduce a second slate of candidates in the running for its president’s post beginning this week.
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Tourism has direct impact on local economy
One jobs sector brought in nearly $250,000 in tax revenue to Milledgeville and Baldwin County last year, but it may not have derived from the first area that comes to mind.
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Thank you for sponsoring Weight Loss Challenge
I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize and submit kudos to our caring Milledgeville businesses that sponsored the recently completed “2012 Weight Loss Challenge.”
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Exercise caution on waterways this summer season
In 2011, there were 11 reported fatalities on Georgia’s lakes and 66 injuries, according to statistics recorded by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
- More Opinion Headlines
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Look what republicans have done in Georgia
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