Clinton-Dannemora guard tower. Photo: Natasha Haverty
Dec 21, 2020 Two state correctional facilities in the North Country will permanently close in March 2021, affecting hundreds of prison jobs in the region.
On a conference call Monday morning, state officials announced that Watertown Correctional Facility, the annex at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, and Gowanda Correctional Facility south of Buffalo will close next spring.
According to state data, the prison in Watertown has more than 300 full-time prison workers, while more than 200 officers work at the annex in Dannemora, according to NYSCOPBA, the union representing corrections officers.
John Roberts, who works for NYSCOPBA representing officers in the North Country, said he was surprised by the news, especially the timing of it.
acerbone@adirondackdailyenterprise.com There are 250 cases of COVID-19 in Franklin and Essex counties as of Friday, with Franklin County setting new record numbers of cases daily and correctional facilities in both counties seeing the highest rates of inmate cases ever. Essex County reported a COVID-19-related death on Friday.
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– Franklin County again has a new highest number of active positive cases ever. With 38 new cases reported Friday, the total of 187 current cases includes many in Bare Hill and Upstate correctional facilities. Of the 38 new cases Friday, 22 were inmates, according to Franklin County data. Eleven cases were resolved Friday bringing the total number of people who have recovered from the virus in Franklin County to 474. This is of 669 people who have tested positive here this year. There have been eight deaths related to COVID-19, most at the Alice Center nursing home in Malone.
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The Legal Aid Society is suing the state for the release of information on the spread of COVID-19 in prisons, arguing that the Department of Corrections has failed to identify the facilities where officers have contracted the virus, making it impossible to trace how widespread the virus is within the prison system.
“The virus doesn t distinguish between correctional officers, correctional staff, counselors, and our clients who are locked up,” Robert Quackenbush, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society’s Prisoners’ Rights Project, said. “If the interest is public health, it doesn’t make sense for the statistics to make those distinctions either.”
acerbone@adirondackdailyenterprise.com Franklin and Essex counties continue to see high numbers of COVID-19 cases, with large rates in inmate populations at state and federal correctional facilities across both counties.
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– Franklin County’s number of active positive cases continues to be the highest ever, with 17 new cases on Thursday bringing the total to 160. Seventeen cases were resolved Thursday, bringing the total number of people who have recovered from the virus to 463. This is of 631 people who have tested positive in the county this year. There have been eight deaths related to COVID-19, most at the Alice Center nursing home in Malone.