Last resort for job creation?

In a move that will bring 175 new jobs to Greene County, the state plans to reopen the former minimum-security prison in Waynesburg to house up to 500 low-risk inmates.

We're glad to see the plan to reopen the former SCI-Waynesburg move forward. If the plan - which was announced last week by state Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, and state Sen. J. Barry Stout, D-Bentleyville - is signed off by the governor and treasurer, the prison will bring stable, full-time jobs, which can't be outsourced or cut back.

Given the continued sad state of the economy, any additional jobs should be welcomed with open arms. While 19 states added jobs since last month, Pennsylvania has lost jobs since November, according to the Labor Department report. The state unemployment level in December is 8.5 percent.

Greene County's unemployment rate in October - the most recent county-level data available - was 7.8 percent, compared to 9.4 percent in Fayette County. The figures represent a 2.2 percent increase for Greene over October 2008 and a 3.4 percent increase for Fayette.

With construction of a new 2,000-bed, medium-security prison planned for German or Luzerne townships in Fayette County next year, there will be four state prisons in the 50th District, The two existing prisons are SCI-Greene in Franklin Township and SCI-Fayette in Luzerne Township.

While prisons might not be the best form of economic development, there's no doubt that they provide stable, well paying jobs, which are in short supply in this area.

What's more, DeWeese said he has been assured that employees hired for the revived SCI-Waynesburg will be eligible for interviews when the new 700-job, $200 million Fayette County prison is completed.

Of course, that was before DeWeese was indicted on corruption charges, and we can only hope that the arrest won't derail the plan. While moving forward on a "DeWeese project" might be politically risky, it is a good one for the area and the state. It's a fact that the state's prison system is perilously overcrowded. In fact, the state Department of Corrections announced this week that it will ship 2,000 inmates to other states.

The reopened minimum-security prison would also be the first of its kind in the state. The plan is to house up to 500 low-risk inmates with a year or less remaining in their sentences, according to state officials. Inmates would be "basically drug and property offenders," DeWeese said at the time of the plan's announcement, and focus on training and rehabilitation.

Stout said the property will remain on the county tax rolls and the DOC has signed a three-year lease for the prison for $1.1 million a year.

Stout and DeWeese deserve credit for their part in moving the plan forward to revitalize the dormant facility in Waynesburg. We urge the governor and treasurer to not delay in approving the DOC plan.