'Big Empty' finally gets some inmates

BONNE TERRE, Mo. -- Nearly two years after the new prison here was first scheduled to open, the first inmates have arrived at "The Big Empty."

Fifty prisoners in the state's Regimented Discipline Program arrived Wednesday, Department of Corrections spokesman Tim Kniest said Thursday.

The program, sometimes referred to as "boot camp," is for nonviolent offenders who have either violated or are seeking probation.

The inmates and about 25 corrections workers were transferred to Bonne Terre from the Farmington Correctional Center, about 15 miles away.

The $168 million Bonne Terre prison, officially called the Eastern Missouri Diagnostic and Reception Center, has been left vacant and unfunded for nearly two years while the state has struggled with tight budgets. Some critics have dubbed the prison "The Big Empty."

Wednesday's arrival of the "boot camp" inmates fulfills a commitment to area lawmakers made by Gov. Bob Holden last fall.

Kniest said a gradual opening of the prison to more inmates could begin in July, depending on what is included in the budget, which the legislature must complete by May 10.

"We're waiting for the determination of the budget and if it proceeds according to the governor's recommendation, then we can start opening after July 1," Kniest said.

Rep. Dan Ward, D-Bonne Terre, said the plan still calls for moving 1,100 inmates into the facility by January. The facility was built to hold 2,684 inmates, which would require about 850 employees.

It can't happen too soon for officials in Bonne Terre, a financially struggling community of about 4,000 residents 60 miles southwest of St. Louis. Mayor Sue Wilkes has said the city took out loans of about $14 million to pay for road, water and sewer improvements to support the prison.

Farmington prison superintendent Jim Purkett is overseeing the Bonne Terre prison until it formally opens and a superintendent is hired. Purkett said Bonne Terre will initially have a staff of about 80 to 100 employees.