By MICHAEL TOLOSKY
Open letter to Gov. Paterson: Lyon Mountain Correctional Facility has been targeted for closure in 2011. This prison is a vital part of our community here in northern New York. The closure of this facility would be detrimental to not only the small area of Lyon Mountain but also surrounding towns in Clinton County, Franklin County and Essex County.
In September of 2009, the facility was audited by the American Correctional Association and received the highest score possible. This could not have been achieved without the camaraderie and efforts of all employees.
Here are some New York state facts from the "ProRated Workdays Report" of January 2010: Employees come to work at Lyon Mountain Correctional Facility 217.63 workdays per year. The state's mandate is 210. Lyon Mountain is in the top five statewide. Many facilities don't achieve the mandate, while some are consistently negligent: Bedford Hills (188.126 workdays), Edgecombe (197.635), Sing Sing (192.446) and Queensboro (192.350). We don't believe these closures are strictly about saving money in the state's budget.
The following is text taken directly from the ACA auditors' final report:
"The audit team interviewed 26 inmates during the course of the audit. Without exception, they were respectful to the members of the team and showed no reluctance to converse. They were satisfied with this situation at the facility and were enthusiastic about the programs available to them. They felt secure at this facility and felt that the staff were empathetic with their efforts to rejoin society.
"The audit team spoke with more than 30 staff members, both uniformed and civilian, and found many of them to be long-term employees both with the NYSDOCS and with this facility. They were enthusiastic about their jobs and conveyed a sense of a positive and easygoing working relationship. Morale appeared high and none voiced any complaints about their working conditions or salaries. They expressed confidence in the supervisory staff and had no complaints about them."
Being a small facility, employees at Lyon Mountain wear many hats. Cross training is essential to the facility operating smoothly, We have a superintendent, one lieutenant, five sergeants, one head account clerk and one program administrator. These people run the facility extremely well.
Some of the capital projects that have been listed as necessary improvements have already been completed. For example, pointing of the buildings was completed last fall. The new roof, last summer. The sewer upgrade, also last summer. The new laundry construction is currently in progress and is approximately half finished. The prison is in A-1 condition. Some of the other smaller projects could be done by our own maintenance staff.
The notion that inmates in facilities in upstate New York should be closer to home is a nice thought. Every one of these men committed a crime against society.
First of all, it is unrealistic that all inmates be housed in the New York City area. Being away from home has benefits. An inmate has time to think about what he has done and what he wants to do in the future. If he really wants to go home, he can work for it and achieve it. We as a department don't really want to just hand them parole. It teaches them nothing.
There are free buses available for families to visit monthly. Parents of men and women in the military who are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan can't visit their loved ones. Why should inmates be afforded the luxury of being close to home at the cost of hardworking taxpayers losing their jobs?
Straight from the department's mission, they wish to individualize inmates' treatment plans. At Lyon Mountain, we do this. In other facilities housing 1,500 inmates, it is extremely difficult at best to accomplish this task. Lyon Mountain Correctional Facility offers Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, aggression-replacement training), alcohol and substance abuse treatment, academic school (ABE, pre-GED, and GED), vocation building maintenance (electrical, plumbing, masonry and carpentry), along with various religious denominations.
Along with our programs, we are support staff for Clinton Correctional Facility year round. Our crew officers take pride in teaching inmates good work ethics. We work alongside them to enhance their skills.
The closure of this facility would be devastating to the employees, the community, the county and surrounding counties. It would also be a loss for the inmates. As stated earlier by the ACA auditors, inmates do get the best treatment in a very favorable environment. It really puts the decision in the inmates' hands — do they want to go home and do the right thing, or go home and continue with the "con" game? We do our best to direct all inmates in a positive manner so they can return to society.
Please reconsider this proposal to close Lyon Mountain Correctional Facility and keep northern New York alive.
Michael Tolosky is a sergeant at Lyon Mountain Correctional Facility.
