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Jefferson Co. set to reopen detention center

WAURIKA, Okla. – Nearly eight years after the federal government shut the doors on its detention center in Waurika, officials in Jefferson County are about ready reopen it. 

The center opened in 1998 and housed illegal aliens who had committed crimes in the United States.  In October 2003, with the inmate population dropping, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service suddenly shut the center down.  But, recent upgrades to the building, inside and out, and a whole new working staff are ready to put things back in order.

It is still unknown if the center will hold the same kind of inmates.  Right now, they have put in requests with INS, as well as the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, and the Comanche County Detention Center.  But the administrator is sure there is a huge need for more space to hold inmates, and for the county to welcome back a major employer.

Barbed wire, cameras, a generator and reinforced doors are just a few security measures the old detention center lacked in 2003 that led to its shutdown.  They have spent about $20,000 to put those changes in place and give a boost to the county's economy.

"The county is one of the poorer in the state and right now we'll be able to hire between 30 to 35 people, which will be a major increase in employment here in this county," said detention center administrator, C. Wayne Smith.

Smith and his staff have spent over a year making the necessary changes to get it operational again.  With over 13 years of service with the Corrections Corporations of America, Chief of Security, Ray Busby, wants to make a difference to the place he grew up.

"I took a risk and I left CCA to come back home and got an opportunity to take this position and I took it and here I am, hoping that we're going to make this thing work and get some people some jobs and some security," said Busby.

They are responsibilities that will potentially generate big bucks for the county, about $1.5 million.

"A majority of that will be spent on the staff and the inmates that we do have.  It will be a lot of local money being spent," said Smith.

Something Busby says the town desperately needs.

"Like the warden said earlier, we're looking anywhere from 30 to 40 employees.  Now that's just starting off.  That number can change after we get going, so it's not going to do anything but help out the community," said Busby.

Smith says he is still waiting for a go-ahead from the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal before he can start filling up those 116 beds.